Grenfell Tower cladding: Nearly 100 tower blocks have failed safety checks since tragedy

Major task: Workmen removing cladding for safety tests on the Chalcots estate in Camden
Jeremy Selwyn

The number of high-rise blocks that have cladding which has failed safety tests was climbing towards 100 today.

Latest figures showed that cladding on 95 buildings from 32 areas had so far been checked in the wake of the Grenfell disaster, and all had failed to meet safety standards.

However, ministers are concerned at delays by town halls in sending cladding samples to be checked. Nearly two weeks after the Grenfell Tower disaster, about one in six out of an estimated 600 high-rise blocks with similar cladding have been tested by experts.

Today the Prime Minister announced a national investigation into how so many high-rise buildings were clad in material that has failed safety tests.

The inquiry will examine cladding put on buildings going back 20 years. It could be a second phase of the judge-led public inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy. Theresa May’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister said there needs to be a major national investigation.”

An estimated 600 social housing buildings have similar aluminium composite material cladding to Grenfell. The checks so far suggest cladding on hundreds of high rise blocks will not meet safety standards. The Building Research Establishment can test 100 samples a day. But many councils, particularly those outside London, have been slow to send samples.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs yesterday: “I am concerned about the speed at which samples are being submitted.” He also said more than £1 million out of £5 million set aside for Grenfell Tower residents had been distributed. Each household affected is receiving £5,500 to provide immediate assistance.

He confirmed the Government’s commitment that every family whose home had been destroyed, at Grenfell Tower and neighbouring Grenfell Walk, would be guaranteed an offer within three weeks of local temporary housing.

He added that so far 373 hotel rooms were being occupied by people who had been forced to leave their homes.

As the police and fire investigation continued into the Grenfell blaze, which is feared to have claimed at least 79 lives, a residents’ group today wrote to Mrs May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd saying the investigation must leave “no stone unturned”. The letter, on behalf of residents of Hurstway, Testerton, Barandon and Grenfell Walks on the Lancaster West estate, said they wanted to ensure “justice is served for everyone on the estate”.

The group, part of the Justice4Grenfell campaign, wrote: “The investigation must identify each and every individual and organisation who must bear responsibility and accountability for this tragedy and the mishandling of the aftermath.

“There must be swift recommendations to ensure there can be no chance of a repeat of this disaster elsewhere.

“Bereaved families and survivors will require time to recover and grieve, not least in view of the paucity of support they have been afforded by the state and its agencies.” Labour MP for Hammersmith Andy Slaughter urged the Government to name the judge who will chair the public inquiry into the disaster. He said: “It’s just another example of a lack of urgency.” However, it is understood that one of the reasons for the judge not being named yet is to ensure the families of Grenfell victims support the appointment.

A meeting of Kensington and Chelsea’s cabinet to discuss the tragedy will take place behind closed doors on Thursday, not in public as usual, amid safety fears following the storming of the town hall after the disaster.

Council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown, who has faced sustained calls to resign over the handling of the response to the tragedy, will chair the session.

Inquests into the deaths of four people who perished in the North Kensington inferno were opened and adjourned at Westminster coroner’s court yesterday. The family of five-year-old Isaac Paulos, one of 18 of the victims who have been formally identified, released a statement saying: “We will all miss our kind, energetic, generous little boy. He was such a good boy who was loved by his friends and family ... we know God is looking after him now and that he is safe in heaven.”

Newham was added to the list of areas where cladding has failed tests today. Others on the list include Barnet, Brent, Camden, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

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