Sunak finally meets flood victims after Labour said PM was not doing enough to help affected families

7 January 2024, 18:12 | Updated: 7 January 2024, 18:23

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met residents affected by flooding in Oxford after Labour accused the PM of not responding to the crisis.

On Sunday, Sunak spoke to people on their doorsteps before visiting Environment Agency workers at their depot on Osney Island.

Addressing the media in front of the fast-moving River Thames, Mr Sunak said: "Flooding has been having a devastating impact on communities up and down the country.

"I was in the East Midlands last week on Thursday and I'm in Oxfordshire here today talking to some of those that have been affected, but also saying thank you to our first responders who were doing a fantastic job over the past week.

"We have over 1,000 Environment Agency personnel on the ground in local communities helping, over 200 pumps have been deployed.

Labour had previously accused the PM of being "asleep at the wheel over flooding".

Shadow Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden said on Friday: “Rishi Sunak has been asleep at the wheel and he must act now or risk further damage to lives and livelihoods.

"This is not about extra money. This is about ensuring that the budget already committed to flood defences is used to maximum effect. If that doesn’t happen, homes across the country will remain exposed.

"We've invested £5.2 billion in flood defences over the period in question - that's a record sum, far more than we've done, in the future that's contributed to protecting over 300,000 homes.

"And of course, there have been many people affected by what's happened over the past week, but also over 49,000 have been protected from flooding."

The visit comes as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office have issued an amber cold health alert (CHA) for the north-west of England, the West Midlands, East Midlands and south-west of England until 12pm on Friday January 12.

A yellow cold health alert remains for the north-east of England, Yorkshire and The Humber, East of England, south-east of England and London.

An amber alert means "cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time".

Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: "With the Met Office forecasting drops in temperature across the United Kingdom into next week, it is important to check in on the wellbeing of those most vulnerable to the cold."