Whirlpool has been slammed by MPs for using “disgraceful” tactics to “silence” customers who had been victims of fires caused by faulty tumble dryers.

The cross-party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee (BEIS) said the company’s use of non-disclosure agreements in at least 24 cases was “chilling”.

As many as 800,000 defective Whirlpool tumble dryers could still be in people’s homes, four years after it emerged that they are a fire risk, the committee said.

Rachel Reeves, the committee’s chair, said: “The Whirlpool tumble-dryer saga has dragged on for far too long, leaving customers, now four years on, still fearing they may have potentially unsafe tumble dryers in their homes.

“Whirlpool has failed to live up to the duties it owes to its customers. Whirlpool’s prime obligation was to fix the safety issues with its tumble dryers rather than in engage in disgraceful tactics such as using NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] to silence customers who have been the victim of fires involving its products.”

The company finally launched a full recall involving 500,000 dryers in July after a lengthy “safety campaign” that resulted in 1.7m products being modified.

The recall relates to certain models of Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline dryers built between 2004 and 2015.

However, Whirlpool admitted to MPs earlier this year that the true number of faulty tumble dryers in homes across the country could be 800,000 and it was working hard to modify those affected.

Whirlpool also revealed that in recent years it had logged 54 fires in its tumble dryers and admitted that three of those were models that had already been updated.

The BEIS committee report welcomed the recall but said it took “far too long” for the government to force the move.

It also expressed concerns, shared by safety organisations, about the safety of Whirlpool’s modification.

The report calls on the government to press ahead with a new review of the safety of Whirlpool’s modification and to investigate other possible sources of fires in Whirlpool’s tumble dryers.

Reeves said: “Whirlpool’s response to fixing safety flaws in its tumble dryers has too often owed more to PR management than to taking the practical steps to make its machines safe for customers.

“The major product safety issues raised by Whirlpool have also highlighted the need for a tough and independent national safety body with the teeth to stand up for consumers.”

Whirlpool’s vice-president Jeff Noel said: “People’s safety is our top priority, which is why Whirlpool welcomes the report by the BEIS select committee to raise awareness of ongoing safety improvements in the UK.

“Through our ongoing campaign we have resolved this potential safety issue – which concerns tumble dryers produced by the previous owner of the company – for more than 1.75 million people. This is up to five times the average success rate for a product recall in the UK.

“We applaud any efforts that create uniform standards that are applied across all industries.”

Whirlpool urged those who own an affected tumble dryer and have not already had it replaced or modified to contact the company immediately on 0800 151 0905 or go to www.whirlpool.co.uk/dryerrecall.