Closing summary
We’re ending our live coverage of the fallout from Storm Henk. Here are the day’s main developments:
Labour has accused Rishi Sunak of being “asleep at the wheel” over flood warnings at the end of a week in which swathes of England and Wales have been underwater and at least 1,000 properties flooded
Sunak has said that people affected by flooding should be “reassured” that Environment Agency staff are working urgently on the problems.
Flooding severely affected rail services in the west of England, with parts of the mainline to Wales closed. Great Western Railway and South Western Railway have urged passengers to check before travel with many trains unable to run as planned
The Environment Agency warned “significant surface water and river flooding impacts” could continue on Friday after rain from Storm Henk battered England overnight
Ten fire engines and around 700 firefighters were called to flooding in Hackney, east London, overnight after a canal burst its banks
The Environment Agency issued more than 300 flood warnings and 330 flood alerts for England and Wales
You can read our full report on the day’s developments here:
Sunak says people affected by flooding should be 'reassured' Environment Agency staff are addressing problems urgently
Rishi Sunak has said that people affected by flooding should be “reassured” that Environment Agency staff are working urgently on the problems.
The opposition parties have accused Sunak of not taking the crisis seriously enough. Labour said in a statement that Sunak had been “asleep at the wheel and must act now or risk further damage to lives and livelihoods”. The Liberal Democrats said Sunak should have been visiting flood victims today.
In a broadcast interview this morning, asked about the government’s response to the flooding, Sunak said:
“I spoke to people in the East Midlands yesterday who had been affected and talking to them about how devastating the impact of flooding is.
I just want people to be reassured that the Environment Agency has got people on the ground in all the affected areas, also hundreds of high volume pumps are in practice right now making a difference and it is important that people follow the advice that has been given in local areas where there are flood warnings that have been given.
People should be reassured. The Environment Agency have people on the ground everywhere, absolutely recognise the urgency of what is happening and they are responding appropriately and with all due haste.”
Andrew Sparrow has full coverage of the latest in politics on a separate live blog.
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