A senior executive from the company that made the cladding fitted to Grenfell Tower is reportedly an adviser to the government on building regulations.
Mark Allen, technical director of Saint Gobain UK, which makes Celotex insulation, is on the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC), The Times reported.
The committee is a non-departmental public body that advises Sajid Javid, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, on making building regulations and setting standards for the design and construction of buildings.
It emerged last week that the Celotex RS 5000 insulation boards fitted in a large refurbishment project proved flammable when tested, and cladding on at least 137 high-rise buildings across 41 local authorities have failed safety checks. Of cladding samples tested across the country, 100 per cent failed.
The product has been withdrawn from use on high-rise buildings, but Mr Allen remains on the committee, which met last week to discuss the Grenfell disaster.
Fire safety experts have reportedly complained that the committee is “heavily weighted towards the building industry” and has proved “difficult to engage with”.
There is concern that regulations have failed to keep pace with changes in construction techniques and the development of new types of materials, including the kind of external cladding used in the £8.6 million Grenfell refit.
Combustible cladding was thought to have aided the “unprecedented” spread of the fire in Grenfell Tower, which killed at least 80 people on 14 June.
