A Harrow MP has blasted claims that one in four people are waiting longer than four hours to be seen at A&E as "utter rubbish".

Harrow East MP Bob Blackman queried figures saying only 74.6 per cent of patients at A&Es under the London North West Healthcare NHS Trust - including Northwick Park Hospital - were seen within the four hour target during January.

Last week Harrow West MP Gareth Thomas, Labour, said people were waiting an "excessive and unfair amount of time at Northwick Park" in response to the statistic published by NHS England.

But Mr Blackman, Conservative, said data provided by the Department for Health showed 89 per cent of patients were seen within the timeframe at London North West Healthcare A&Es.

Furthermore, he said this year to date, the figure is 89.4 per cent of patients were seen within four hours.

Mr Blackman said: "Claims that one in four people are waiting longer than four hours are utter rubbish. The official figures show that nearly 90 per cent of patients are being seen within the target number of hours and that our hospitals are doing exceptional work in maintaining that figure.

"Of course, services are always under strain in our hospitals, and January is especially known for being an extremely busy time as the bad weather aggravates colds and chronic illnesses and leads to more people visiting A&Es.

"However, to suggest that all of the extra funding and support provided is not having an impact is simply incorrect. The performance figures show that our local hospitals are now some of the best in London."