Miller, who replaced Jeremy Hunt in the senior Government position last month, used her speech in Birmingham to talk up the Conservative's role in helping the UK stage the greatest sporting event on earth.

"Danny Boyles' Isles of Wonder Olympic Opening Ceremony was watched by 27 million people; 27 million people who saw the best of Britain: Kenneth Brannagh bringing to life Shakespeare's' Tempest made our spines tingle," she said.

"James Bond, skydiving with the Queen, reminded us of our fantastic film industry.

"Our musical heritage, from Elgar, the Beatles to Arctic Monkey's spanned the decades.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that this year the eyes of the world have been on Britain.

"And when the world turned its gaze on us, it saw a country confident of its unique cultural heritage.

"Our Olympic and Paralympic athletes won an unprecedented 185 medals.

"They truly inspired the nation.

"This summer has made us proud to be British."

Miller also used the speech to praise her predecessor Hunt, now the Health Secretary, and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson for their role in helping stage a successful event.

Jeremy Hunt (R) and Hugh Robertson (L) have been praised for their work on London 2012

"The Olympics and Paralympics demonstrated real team work across Government, and great leadership from my colleagues Jeremy Hunt and Hugh Robertson," she said.

"I must also pay tribute to both my department and the rest of my ministerial team who are so committed to the work that we do.

"We didn't only exceed expectations on the track but the phenomenal global media coverage exceeded expectations too.

"The approach of the BBC and Channel 4 were ground breaking.

"You never had to miss a moment.

"The digital complexity behind that is astonishing and has set a new gold standard."

In the keynote speech of the conference, Prime Minister David Cameron also heavily referenced London 2012.

Prime Minister David Cameron (C) was in regular attendance at the London 2012 Games

"Britain can deliver; we saw it this summer with the Olympics and the Paralympics," he said.

"I was trying to think of my favourite moment.

"Was it telling President Hollande that no, we hadn't cheated at the cycling, we didn't have rounder wheels, it was just that we peddled faster than the French?

"No, for me it was seeing that young woman who swam her heart out for years; nine training sessions a week, two hours a time.

"My best moment was putting that gold medal around the neck of Ellie Simmonds.

"And I am so grateful for what all those Paralympians did.

"When I used to push my son Ivan around in his wheelchair, I always thought that some people saw the wheelchair, not the boy.

"Today more people would see the boy and not the wheelchair – and that's because of what happened here this summer.

"And the Olympics showed us something else.

"Whether our athletes were English, Scottish, Welsh or from Northern Ireland they draped themselves in one flag."

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