Labour MP slams coalition's fibre optic broadband scheme

Labour MP for Wakefield Mary Creagh has hit out at the coalition's attempts to bring fibre optic broadband to more rural areas.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference, she claimed the current government has "botched" her party's targets to bring a next-generation service to every property in the country by dedicating too much funding to urban areas.

The coalition government scrapped Labour's plans to introduce 'universal broadband' across the UK when it came into power in 2010. Instead, it replaced this policy with the current proposal, which intends to introduce a fibre optic service to 95 per cent of the country by 2017.

Ms Creagh claimed the current scheme breeds a lack of equality between city centres and rural areas in terms of access to superfast broadband.

She said: "This government's botched rollout of broadband means people in the countryside are twice as likely to be offline as people in cities. A Labour government will extend broadband access so everyone has broadband."

Her comments come following a pledge from the Labour Party that it will divert £75 million away from digital infrastructure projects in cities in favour of funding further broadband rollouts in rural areas.