Shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has called for cross-party consensus to ensure a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Show, Jowell said a key component of legacy plans should be to ensure that "every child has the opportunity to play sport at school".

Jowell's comments came as the government has come under criticism for its recent stance on school sport.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister David Cameron called for "a big cultural change" in favour of competitive sports in schools and suggested some teachers were not "playing their part".

Meanwhile, culture minister Jeremy Hunt described school sport provision as "patchy" while Conservative MP Damian Hinds went even further, claiming that teaching unions were not doing their part in helping provide activities outside school hours.

NASUWT, one of the largest teachers' unions, was quick to respond to Hinds' comments.

In a strongly-worded statement, the union said: "These comments only serve to demonstrate how desperate the Government is now that the detrimental impact its education policies and funding cuts are having on school sport has been exposed."

Stephen Twigg, the Labour Party's shadow education secretary, echoed Jowell's calls to bring all stake holders together and find consensus to ensure a Games legacy - including all parliamentary parties working together.

"We want to develop a 10 year, cross-party national pan for school sport that would provide the necessary support for it to happen, and ensure the Olympic legacy of inspiring the next generation," Twigg said.