Boris Johnson calls emergency meeting as hundreds evacuated over flooding

The Prime Minister has called an emergency Cobra meeting, following severe flooding that has hit parts of the country.

Boris Johnson will chair the meeting tomorrow, after Jeremy Corbyn sent him a letter, calling on him to ‘take personal charge’ of the Government’s response.

The Prime Minister was condemned by opposition leaders for his comments at the weekend, in which he claimed that the flooding was ‘not looking like something we need to escalate to the level of a national emergency’.

Mr Corbyn said that if the flooding had occurred in Surrey, rather than Yorkshire or the East Midlands, it would be ‘far more likely’ that a national emergency would have been declared.

A Government spokesman said tonight: ‘The Prime Minister will chair an emergency COBRA meeting tomorrow to discuss the response to recent flooding.’

In his letter to Mr Johnson, the Labour leader wrote: ‘With heavy rain expected in parts of Yorkshire and the Midlands, in areas that are already suffering from flooding, hundreds of further flood warnings are in place.

‘Rightly there will be hundreds of thousands of people across these regions who remain concerned about their families and livelihoods.

‘With this in mind, I am writing to urge you to hold a Cobra meeting and take personal charge of the Government’s response to the devastating flooding we have seen over the past few days.

‘In addition, we need full assurance from the Government that every resource is being utilised to aid those that need it and protect against future potential floods.

‘With dozens of flood warnings still in place, I have to disagree with your assessment from the weekend that this is not a national emergency.’

Mr Corbyn said the Government must also ensure that the insurance industry fulfils its responsibilities.

On Monday afternoon, the Environment Agency had five severe ‘danger to life’ flood warnings in place, all in and around Doncaster, as well as 39 flood warnings across the country.

Residents in Fishlake, near Doncaster, raised concerns that more flooding was likely from the River Don, unless existing water was pumped away.

They say it is the first time the village has been flooded in 100 years.

The Met Office has a yellow weather warning for rain in place until midday on Tuesday, covering parts of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Sheffield.

About 400 homes have been flooded in the North, and 1,200 properties have been evacuated, according to the Environment Agency.