A NORTH-EAST MP says BT needs to “get its act together” after workers were caught mocking a report into the company's poor broadband services.

An exchange between the employees was recorded by Conservative MP Grant Shapps after the press office employees failed to put the telephone down properly after calling his office on Friday.

They wanted a copy of a report by MPs, which found millions of broadband customers and businesses suffer "dire" connection speeds despite BT receiving £1.7bn in taxpayers' money to improve services.

In the recording, the two men can be heard ridiculing the cross-party report backed by 121 MPs, including Bishop Auckland Labour MP Helen Goodman.

The worker who makes the call is heard telling a colleague about the report.

"It's called Broadbad," he says.

The colleague replies: "Broadbad? Oh, that's clever. That's hilarious."

After discussing how the "n" of broadband has been crossed out, the first man says sarcastically: "Ooo, look at that."

MP Helen Goodman said: "Such complacency is totally unacceptable.

“There are businesses in Barnard Castle who paid for connections a year ago, which still haven't been made, risking local jobs.

“BT needs to get its a?ct together.

“No wonder things don't get done if this is their attitude."

Mr Shapps said the two men appeared "simply not to care" about the issues highlighted in the report about the poor services customers are enduring.

Speaking to the BBC, he described the staff members as being are “pretty contemptuous and dismissive of the entire issue."

He added: "They appeared simply not to care about it."

The report by the British Infrastructure Group (BIG), which was set up by Mr Shapps, called for the telecoms giant to be split from its Openreach subsidiary to end its "natural monopoly" over the nation's broadband infrastructure.

The chief executive of BT has admitted there is "more to do" in the roll out of Openreach's broadband service.

Appearing on Saturday's Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Gavin Patterson responded to the MPs report and said: "Over 90 per cent of the UK can get super fast broadband today - which means that ten per cent today cannot.

“Within the next 18 months that will only be five per cent and we are working with the Government to find ways to address the last five per cent."

He admitted in rural areas "there is more to do, there is no question about that".