More than 1,000 schools could be affected by the crumbling concrete scandal, Rishi Sunak has revealed.
More than 100 schools have so far been told to either partially or completely shut as a result of the crisis - just as pupils return after the summer holidays.
It comes after it emerged the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) used in the buildings was at risk of collapse.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday morning, the prime minister said 95% of England’s schools “won’t be impacted”.
With 24,413 schools in the country, that means more than 1,000 could be forced to close.
Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem education spokesperson, said Sunak must publish a full list of the schools affected following his “stunning admission”.
“This is a national emergency but Tory ministers are leaving parents in the dark,” she said.
“He needs to come clean, publish full list of schools affected + apologise for his own role in this scandal.”
Downing Street has said a list of schools affected will be published “this week”, but would not say when.
Sunak is also under pressure after it emerged that as chancellor he halved the number of schools in the government’s rebuilding programme despite safety warnings.
Jonathan Slater, who was the top civil servant at the Department for Education for four years until 2020, told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme it was “frustrating” that the requests were rejected by the Treasury.
The prime minister said it was “completely and utterly wrong” to claim he had decided not to properly fund the scheme.
The school closures came just days before pupils across England were set to return to school after the summer holidays.