WATCH: Angry residents confront Boris Johnson as he finally visits flood-hit Yorkshire
3 min read
Boris Johnson has faced a hostile reception from communities hit by floods in Yorkshire.
The Prime Minister was heckled as he visited the region where hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes.
Thirty-four flood warnings are currently in place across England, with a further 73 flood alerts urging people to be prepared for disruption.
One woman, named as Annie Hall, was killed by the floods and pulled from the River Derwent near Matlock on Friday.
Mr Johnson convened a Cobra crisis meeting on Tuesday to coordinate the Government's response, and the army has been dispatched to aid communities affected.
The Prime Minister told residents the Government was “working around the clock” but the offer was turned down by some residents during a visit on Wednesday.
One woman told Mr Johnson the local resource centre and library were “crying out for help” and since the disaster: “It’s been a real struggle we’ve had no help helping us, we didn’t know where to start we just used common sense basically.”
A resident in Stainforth, South Yorkshire told Mr Johnson: “I'm not very happy about talking to you so, if you don't mind, I'll just mope on with what I'm doing.
“You've not helped us up to present day. I don't know what you're here today for."
Another shouted: “You took your time Boris! Where you been?”
Speaking to Sky News about his reception, Mr Johnson said: “I perfectly understand how people feel and you cannot underestimate the anguish that the flood causes...
"I think the shock of seeing your property engulfed by water is huge and also the anxiety about what may still be to come.
“I do thank very much the emergency services, the army for everything they’ve been doing.
"Obviously we are working very hard, we decided last night to send some of the troops here you see here and they’re doing a great job in trying to repair the flood bank there.
“But there is a lot more still to be done and I think householders need the reassurance that they’re going to get the compensation that we’re putting in place.”
'TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE'
Mr Johnson said £2,500 would be made available to businesses, with £500 offered to every household affected by the floods.
And the Prime Minister said: “In the long term you’ve just got to be putting in the flood defences and since the Government came in in 2010 there’s been a huge amount allocated to flood defences.
"But it’s clear we’re going to have to do more."
Labour have already dismissed the Government's response to the flooding as "too little too late".
Shadow minister Jon Trickett said: "You can’t trust Boris Johnson to look out for the North or the Midlands or protect our communities from flooding.
"But Labour will provide an extra £5.6 billion in flood defence funding, to level up flood defences over 10 years.
"Every home ruined and every business destroyed demands we act now."
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