A Southampton MP called on the Prime Minister to reassure the city's leaseholders that action will be taken to deal with long-standing fire safety issues.

Darren Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen, raised concerns in Parliament last month about 46 residents blocks in the city that are still affected by unsafe cladding, which has left residents stuck in 'unsellable flats.'

But at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Mr Paffey put the issue to Sir Keir Starmer directly, after reports showed that Southampton Itchen has the highest number of high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding in Hampshire.

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Mr Paffey asked: “Thousands of my constituents across Southampton Itchen have had to put up with years of misery because of unsafe fire protection in their own homes, developers dragging their feet and leaseholders having to foot the bill for mistakes they didn’t make.

“Does the Prime Minister agree that enough is enough, and it’s time for developers to make all homes safe?

“And will he reassure leaseholders – who bought their homes in good faith – that this Government has their back?”

In response, the Prime Minister said that 'too many buildings are still unsafe' and the speed of auction has been 'far too slow.'

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Sir Keir Starmer said: "Our action plan sets out measures to identify buildings at risk and fix them faster. And my message, Mr Speaker, is clear: the funding is there to fix this, and there is no excuse not to deliver for residents.”

Mr Paffey previously criticised slow progress in December, telling Parliament that 'peace of mind is not yet felt by many residents in my consistency.'

The Southampton Itchen MP said: "Some remediation has happened, and that is to be welcomed, but in too many places it is not happening fast enough, or leaseholders are paying the price.”

In December, the government set new targets to fix unsafe buildings in England as part of a new Remediation Acceleration Plan.

The plan is set to hold rogue freeholders to account and put an end in sight for affected residents by setting clear target dates to make buildings safe for the first time.