One-in-10 cars that passed their MOT last year should have failed as garages are failing to uphold the Government's strict testing standards, according to an investigation.

Analysis of the Driver and penipu Vehicle Standards Agency's (DVSA) latest MOT Compliance Survey for 2021-22 found that 10.1 per cent of cars passed deemed to be roadworthy by testers should have failed the annual check-up.

This equated to almost 1.3million potentially unsafe motors on Britain's roads, many of which had dangerous defects that were 'missed' by garages. 

MOT concerns: Analysis of a DVSA survey of MOT testing found that 10.1% cars passed by UK garages should have failed - and another 2.1% were failed but shouldn't have  

As part of the DVSA's annual survey, a team of agency experts retest a randomly-selected sample of vehicles to double check if MOTs are being carried out correctly.

Last year, a total of 1,732 MOT tested cars were re-examined by the agency to better understand if accurate testing standards are being applied by the industry.

The report confirmed that the DVSA's panel of examiners disagreed with the test outcomes in 12.2 per cent of cases reviewed.

Of these, 2.1 per cent were cars that were failed by garages but the DVSA's experts said should have been issued a pass certificate.