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Vauxhall may have known its Zafira model was liable to burst into flames in 2009 – a full six years before a recall was made, it has emerged.

A Vauxhall executive told MPs that the first fire was recorded in 2009, after a problem with the heating and ventilation system on a Zafira.

According to campaigners, more than 300 Zafiras have caught fire, posing an obvious risks to occupants.

In an effort to address the issue, Vauxhall recalled more than 234,938 Vauxhall Zafira Bs in December.

Peter Hope, Vauxhall’s director of customer experience and corporate strategy, informed MPs that the first suspected fire in a Zafira was recorded in February of 2009.

When asked why the US-owned carmaker took such a long time to act, Hope said: “Often when fires are reported [the cause is] not clear - either because the vehicles themselves are totally destroyed or because we don't have access to the vehicle to inspect it.

"For those vehicles prior to 2014, we didn't have enough evidence from the reporting system that we had to identify this as an issue that we could take action with.

"From 2014 onwards, there was a recognition of a pattern and that was then investigated extensively with our engineers."

Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP called the company's response “wholly inadequate”.

The London Fire Brigade alone has been called out to 120 Zafira fire since 2013 - 14 of them up until May of this year.

Vauxhall continues to be criticised for the speed of its recall, which has been staggered and won’t begin until next month.