One of Southampton's new MPs has given his maiden speech in parliament by telling children in care 'never' to be held back.

Darren Paffey spoke in the House of Commons after snatching the Southampton Itchen back from the Conservatives earlier this month.

Mr Paffey, who was in foster care and adopted as a child, said he hopes those in similar situations now will reach their "fullest potential" despite the stigma.

Mr Paffey described himself as a working class foster kid.

He said: "If I achieve just one thing as an MP - obviously, I intend to work hard and achieve more than that - I hope it will be to say to those whose backgrounds look anything like mine: 'Let those challenging times and that stigma that often comes with social care never ever hold you back, but instead forge in yourself a steely determination to achieve your fullest potential.' 

"I would not be here without some measure of that."

READ MORE: Southampton Central station interchange finally opens after 18 months

Speaking during a debate on education and opportunity on Wednesday, he said he finds himself in a "small cohort of only a few MPs known to have grown up in foster care and to have been adopted".

He added: "The public services that we are talking about today, and that this Government will rebuild, are the services that made me who I am—the NHS staff, the social workers and the inspiring teachers.

"When I was made cabinet member for children’s services in Southampton, it felt like life had come full circle, and it really did so again just a few weeks ago during the campaign when Peter, who was the social worker for the first 10 years of my life, got in touch to wish me well.!

Mr Paffey said he would champion his home city as a "bustling hub of culture, commerce, and maritime heritage".

He said: “We are an outward-looking city, the pilgrim fathers sailed from Southampton, as did our brave D-Day troops.

“Spitfires and military ships were manufactured on the shores of the Itchen in Woolston.”

Mr Paffey also paid tribute to his family and former Tory constituency MP Royston Smith, saying he was “touched to receive a gracious letter” from him.

In closing, he said: “It is a phenomenal privilege to be here.

"Many see this Chamber from the outside and think of combative Punch and Judy politics, but as I join these benches, I look over at the plaque remembering our colleague Jo Cox and recall her words that ‘we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.’”

Mr Paffey also told the Commons he is one of only three Darrens to be elected as an MP.