Wes Streeting MP has written to the home secretary seeking urgent clarification of the impact on Ilford North following news that 400,000 police records have been deleted.

The letter sets out a number of key questions for Priti Patel, including how many people have been affected in Ilford North, what work is being done with police to identify gaps in the system and what the impact will be on vital safeguarding issues, such as domestic abuse and stalking.

Mr Streeting said: "This fiasco is incredibly serious and the Conservative government's incompetence is putting the safety of people at risk in Ilford North.

"Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that as a result of this mess criminals will escape punishment, victims will miss out on justice and our community will be less safe."

Ms Patel was asked about this issue on Good Morning Britain today (January 20) and dodged the question of whether the crime records are gone forever.

When asked by Piers Morgan if she would resign if the documents were not found she responded: "We are working night and day to bring these records back."

Mr Streeting added: “I’ve raised this as an urgent matter with the Home Secretary demanding information of the full impact on Ilford North and vitally how we can fix this very serious problem.”

The Home Office did not respond to a request to comment on this story.