WORCESTER MP Robin Walker has come under severe criticism - amid claims he voted to "keep in the hated bedroom tax".

Labour's parliamentary candidate Councillor Joy Squires is embroiled in a war of words with the Tory over the unpopular Government policy.

A tense House of Commons debate took place over watering it down with a view to eventually scrapping the spare room subsidy entirely.

The Affordable Homes Bill, tabled by Lib Dem MP Andrew George secured a second reading by 306 votes to 231, but it was opposed by Tories including Mr Walker.

The bill seeks to shield disabled people from the policy, which sees housing benefit slashed 14 per cent for all social housing tenants with one spare bedroom, or 25 per cent for those with two or more bedrooms lying empty.

Cllr Squires' said: "Despite clear evidence the 'bedroom tax' is causing misery, hardship and forcing thousands to rely on food banks the Tories, including Worcester MP Robin Walker, have voted again and again in favour of it.

"It is disappointing that Robin refuses to stand up for the hundreds of people in Worcester who have been harmed so badly by it.

"If this Government won’t ditch the Bedroom Tax then the next Labour one will."

Her criticism has been rejected by Mr Walker, who said it would have led to £1 billion of cuts being made to other benefits to afford it.

"Because Labour and the Liberal Democrats voted for a welfare cap, it means we'd have to take £1 billion out of other benefits," he said.

"Nobody addressed where they would take that money from to afford it.

"The problem I've got is that it would have cost £1 billion without increasing the availability of affordable housing or enabling any construction whatsoever."

He also said when the old Labour Government enacted the end of a similar subsidy for people in private rented homes in 2008, it did so without helping disabled people, and insisted the spare room subsidy was "fairer" towards them with measures like discretionary relief grants.

Your Worcester News revealed in August how the so-called bedroom tax has helped plunge at least 738 people across south Worcestershire into debt.

In Worcester alone 119 people have been sent "possession orders", a legal warning that action could be taken to kick them out unless the debts are paid.