CUTS to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service's budget since the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2017 have left it ill-prepared for a similar emergency, an MP has alleged.

Blackburn Labour backbencher Kate Hollern made the claim during Home Office Questions in the House of Commons.

She told fire service minister Nick Hurd: "The government have been severely complacent in preparing fire services for an emergency on the scale of Grenfell Tower.

"There are still hundreds of dangerous high-rise buildings, and by continuing to degrade our fire service.

"The government are failing to recognise the severity of the risk.

"Since Grenfell, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s funding has been slashed by £3.8million. Response times have continued to rise.

"Can the you guarantee that all fire and rescue services will be properly prepared for high-rise emergency incidents?"

Mr Hurd replied: "The government continue to give the fire service the resources it needs against a background of falling fire numbers.

"We continue to monitor that in the run-in to the comprehensive spending review, working closely with the fire service.

"On the remediation of buildings and the urgent review of a fire safety system that had clearly failed, we continue to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in our consultation on that."