Labour's Yvette Cooper has vowed to defend the founding principles of the police against "creeping privatisation".

The shadow home secretary declared that the Tories have forfeited their claim to be the "party of law and order".

Her speech comes a day after Labour leader Ed Miliband made a bold bid to wrest the "One Nation" mantle of another former Conservative premier Benjamin Disraeli.

Mrs Cooper accused the Government of seeking to privatise "huge swathes" of police operations despite the failure of security firm G4S to provide the Olympic staff it promised, forcing the police and military to step in.

She said: "Labour Police and Crime Commissioners will halt this Tory rush to privatisation of our police.

"Tory ministers want huge swathes of policing handed over to private companies. Nothing ruled out. Contract tenders which include neighbourhood patrols, detective investigations and more.

"Pushing forces to sign up to massive contracts with a single organisation where value for money is at risk.

"Have they learned nothing from the Olympics?

"Policing in the interests of justice not just the corporate balance sheet. That means tough tests must apply on value for money, on resilience and security, on transparency and accountability and, most of all, on public trust.

"Let's be blunt. We don't want private companies patrolling the public streets of Britain. We want police officers and PCSOs policing our communities, not private companies putting them under guard."