One of Tony Blair's closest Cabinet allies has brushed aside calls for the Prime Minister to stand down and make way for a new leader.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Lord Chancellor, said Mr Blair was still the right man to lead the country.
He said his former flatmate had "lots to do" in terms of policy on health, education and particularly security.
He made clear that Mr Blair would not be swayed by opinion polls putting Labour at its lowest ebb since he became leader or continuing unrest within the party over his handling of the Lebanon crisis.
"Now, in my view, is not the time to go as Prime Minister. There's lots to do, he is the right man to do it," Lord Falconer told Sky News's Sunday Live programme.
"Tony Blair, who has won three elections for the Labour Party, is the right man to address those issues.
"In terms of addressing the attacks on this country by terrorists, in terms of being a world statesman, I don't think anybody could do the job better than Tony Blair.
"The fact that the polls are swinging against a political party is not an indication that the political party must immediately change its position and change its leader."
He also quashed hopes among some Labour MPs that Mr Blair - who has said he will stand down before the next general election - would use his speech to the party conference in Manchester next month to give some clearer indication of when exactly he intends to go.
"I think he will be giving us a clearer idea, as he has been doing year on year, what policies he thinks the Government should be adopting," he said.
