A Lewisham MP has called for compensation for train passengers after "utter chaos" at train stations across south east London.

Speaking at a debate on the effect of London Bridge station redevelopment at Westminster, Lewisham East MP Heidi Alexander said that the timetable changes had caused havoc.

Ms Alexander said that this has caused fights at stations due to people not being able to get on a train.

She proposed that compensation should be given to passengers on the Southeastern network if improvements are not made.

She said: "In my constituency many trains are full when they arrive at local stations, and people are paying for a service they can barely access.

"What has always been a poor overcrowded service is now abysmal and yet, as with every year, fares have gone up.

"How this can be justified when some people can't even get on a train is beyond me."

Ms Alexander said that commuters in south east London are crying out for longer trains and better communication from the train operating companies.

She also called for extra carriages on Cannon Street services, saying that every rush-hour train into Cannon Street should be 12 cars.

If extra carriages were not available immediately, old Thameslink rolling stock could be used once it becomes available later in the year, she suggested.

MP for Eltham, Clive Efford, said that constituents were finding the Cannon Street trains dangerously overcrowded.

He added: "What is quite clear is that there was no plan for the extra demand for those trains which are stopping at London Bridge.

"If they can't get on the damn trains then what's the point."

MP for Lewisham West and Penge, Jim Dowd, branded the current London Bridge station a shambles, adding that the performance of Southern services had been "lamentable and shameful".

London Bridge, he said, was a "vital interchange and a vital artery and at the moment it's completely and utterly clogged up."