Environment Agency chair regrets not returning earlier from Barbados holiday

Sir Philip Dilley tells MPs he wishes he had cut short Christmas break to help deal with flooding in northern England

The chairman of the Environment Agency, Sir Philip Dilley, has said he wished he had returned earlier from a Christmas holiday in Barbados to help deal with the flooding in northern England, which hit more than 16,000 homes after record rainfall in recent weeks.

"In hindsight it would have been much better if I had come back as early as I could, which was one or two days earlier," Dilley told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs select committee on Wednesday. "One of my biggest regrets is that it has detracted from what really matters, which are the people who have been affected."