A Labour MP has claimed that his constituency was described as a “shit-hole” by the home secretary, James Cleverly, during prime minister’s questions.

Alex Cunningham said Cleverly had uttered the phrase when the Labour MP for Stockton North asked: “Why are 34% of children in my constituency living in poverty?”

After standing up later in parliament to raise a point of order with the deputy speaker Eleanor Laing, Cunningham said of Cleverly: “He was seen and heard to say, ‘Because it’s a shit-hole’,” Cunningham said, to gasps from fellow Labour MPs.