MP slams Tower Block TV series as 'disgrace'

For the past three weeks Channel Four viewers have watched the Grimsby MP living for a week on Hull's Orchard Park estate as part of the programme Tower Block of Commons.

Tory frontbencher Tim Loughton and backbench MP Nadine Dories, along with Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten, have also been filmed in other parts of the country to shed light on what life is like for council tenants in tower blocks. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith also took part but withdrew when his wife was diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Mitchell has launched a bitter attack on the company which made the documentary, Love Productions, claiming the MPs had been made to seem greedy, out of touch and incompetent.

"Result? A deluge of abuse about MPs but nothing said about the neglect of council estates, the betrayal of council housing, the need for new builds and innovations, the plight of tenants penalised by poor facilities or the betrayal of Bevan's vision of mixed communities by turning them into dumping grounds," he wrote on his blog.

"A disgrace. To Channel Four for putting it out. To Love for its cynical distraction of the real story. To me for taking part in the first place."

Last night Love Productions said it was "surprised" by his comments and denied the MPs were misled. A spokesman also denied claims by Mr Mitchell the company had negatively briefed against the MPs.

A spokesman said: "There's been a dialogue with MPs throughout production, all of whom have viewed the programmes before transmission, to ensure they fairly reflected what happened. We have not received any complaints from MPs about the broadcast programmes.

"Love and Channel 4 cannot be responsible for what others write about the series. We certainly did not set out to humiliate the MPs taking part and we don't believe the end result does so."