CHIPPING BARNET MP'S CHRISTMAS DAY VISIT TO EAST BARNET GAS CRISIS CENTRE

This morning, Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, visited the crisis centre at St Mary's School, Little Grove, East Barnet, which has been set up to deal with the repairs needed to tackle the disruption to gas supplies to over a thousand homes in her constituency.

Following the visit, Theresa said, "I wanted to see for myself that work was carrying on to get my constituents reconnected as soon as possible. I was reassured to find that a team of 70 people are working on Christmas Day to get this crisis fully resolved and to repair the problems with the gas supply."

"However, it is a huge concern that around 150 families have been left without gas supplies on Christmas Day. My visit to St Mary's School this morning gave me the opportunity to meet more of the constituents who have been affected by this disaster and help them get the answers they need from National Grid about when they will be reconnected."

"During my visit, National Grid explained to me that one of the problems they face is that it is hard to know with certainty where all of the leaked water has got into the gas system. Fixing one area, may reveal problems of which they were previously unaware. They are anxious not to find that someone who has been recently reconnected, suddenly loses their gas supply again."

"I'd like to pay tribute to all my constituents who have lost their gas supply over the last five days and the patient way they have put up with this huge disruption to Christmas. I'd also like to thank the engineers who are working on Christmas Day to try to fix this problem."

Throughout the crisis, Theresa has been in constant touch with National Grid and Veolia Water who are responsible for getting gas supplies reconnected as well as with constituents affected. Today's visit follows on from one earlier in the week.

Theresa also spoke to Radio 5 Live this morning about the crisis her constituents are facing on Christmas Day.