10:31

Simon Danczuk: 'Spend money in UK, not Bangladesh'

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk says more could have been done to prevent the flooding in the region and that money needs to be spent in this country, rather than in developing ones.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester in the aftermath of the devastation which hit his Rochdale constituency, he said: “Why do we spend money in Bangladesh when it needs spending in Great Britain? What we need to do is to sort out the problems which are occurring here and not focus so much on developing countries. That has to be our priority.”

He said the flooding had been “awful” for people, adding: “We need to put that right as soon as possible.”

Mr Danczuk said that although the Environment Agency had been pressed to do more prevention work, because of cutbacks we “could not expect that to happen”.

He said: “It’s been awful, terrible for people who have been affected, we need to put that rights as soon as possible.

“It’s all about prevention - I think more could have been done, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I think the Environment Agency could have done more to prepare for this. We would have anticipated this and concerns were raised with the Environment Agency.”