Politicians have clashed over the issue of homelessness after a report found that more than 300,000 people in Britain are without a home.

Navin Shah, the London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, said the figures, which were published by national charity Shelter, suggested that the Government is not doing enough to tackle the crisis.

Harrow, which, according to Mr Shah, needs almost 1,400 new homes to meet its housing needs, ranked 28th in a list of the worst boroughs in England for homelessness.

“These appalling figures show that the Government has wilfully turned its back on those who’ve had the misfortune to find themselves homeless,” Mr Shah said.

“We know so much about the causes of homelessness, but if we don’t start applying the solutions this picture in places like Brent and Harrow is only going to become even bleaker.”

But Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who represents Harrow East, hit back by claiming that the current Government has put homelessness at the heart of its housing agenda.

The 61-year-old has been a constant authority on the “complex issue” of homelessness, pushing through a bill which seeks to reduce it across the UK.

He said: “The Government recently announced it is increasing funding for local authorities to meet new responsibilities as my Homelessness Reduction Act becomes law, taking the total amount provided to fund administrative costs to £82million for the first two years of operation.

“This demonstrates that, unlike the Mayor [of London], the Government is serious about tackling this issue and is putting the work in to help prevent people from experiencing homelessness. Prevention is better than cure.”

While Mr Blackman took aim at Sadiq Khan’s approach to homelessness, Mr Shah defended his colleague.

He noted how the Mayor has pledged “£9 million a year to tackle rough sleeping” and called on the Prime Minister to carry out similar “determined action”.