‘David Cameron’s claim that spending on flood defences will rise under the Coalition has been contradicted by the UK’s official statistics watchdog which says that the budget has been cut by nearly £250m.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, head of the UK Statistics Authority, said that it is in the “public interest” for official figures on flood defences to be published.

His intervention comes after a bitter row between Labour and Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, which will be the subject of a House of Commons debate today.

Labour and Friends of the Earth have claimed that cuts to flood maintenance may have contributed to the damage caused by the floods this winter.’

Read more: Flood defence cash cut by £250m despite PM's claim