Volkswagen has revealed that almost 1.2m vehicles in the UK are involved in the diesel emissions scandal that has rocked the carmaker, meaning more than one in 10 diesel cars on the country’s roads are affected.

VW said the diesel vehicles include 508,276 Volkswagen cars, 393,450 Audis, 76,773 Seats, 131,569 Škodas and 79,838 Volkswagen commercial vehicles. The total number of vehicles affected is 1,189,906.

This is the first time VW has admitted how many of the 11m vehicles fitted with a defeat device to cheat emissions tests are in the UK.

The admission means that the UK is one of the countries worst affected by the scandal and will increase the pressure on the government to launch a full investigation.

Figures from the Department for Transport show that there were 10.7m diesel cars on Britain’s roads at the end of 2014 and that an estimated 5.3m of the petrol and diesel cars are Volkswagens or one of the groups’ sister brands. Details