More towers with combustible cladding identified
This live blog is now closing. Here is a summary of the evening’s events:
The communities and local government secretary, Sajid Javid, revealed that the number of blocks found to have been clad in combustible material has risen from seven to 11. In a letter to MPs, he said the disaster had changed his understanding of what it is to be a cabinet minister.
Nine tower blocks in Salford were found to be using similar cladding to that on Grenfell Tower. Samples have been sent off for checks to determine whether or not it is combustible.
No publicly-owned high rise blocks in Scotland use the aluminium composite cladding implicated in the Grenfell Tower disaster. The Scottish confirmed said it had confirmed as much with the country’s 32 councils.
In his letter to MPs confirming the new total of buildings with combustible cladding, Sajid Javid said Camden, Manchester and Plymouth were three areas where buildings had failed the test but stressed he could not reveal more because local residents in the others have not yet been informed, despite landlords being alerted to results. He wrote:
I also want to reassure colleagues that you will be made aware if any sites are in your constituency by the local authority in the first instance - my department stands ready to assist colleagues if further information is required.
To ensure that local authorities and housing associations know how to respond where tests do show action is needed, my department has today written to every one of them to ensure they know what immediate steps they should take if the testing shows cladding material is unlikely to be compliant with current building regulations, and I attach a copy of this for your information.
We should be clear that landlords have a legal obligation to provide safe buildings. Where they cannot do that, we expect alternative accommodation to be provided. My department stands ready to work with local authorities to ensure they can meet their obligations to provide safety for their tenants. We cannot and will not ask people to live in unsafe homes.
He added that the disaster had “shaken” his understanding of his job in the cabinet.
As a minister, I have always been prepared to make tough decisions. I understood the pressures that come with public life but this disaster has shaken my comprehension of what it means to be in office. I have met some of the victims of Grenfell, I have witnessed for myself the grief and anger of those who have lost so much - more than just their possessions but also their loved ones, their security and their memories.
This government will do everything possible not just to replace houses and provide immediate relief, but to seek justice for those people who have been failed. This tragedy should weigh on the consciousness of every person tasked with making a decision so this can never happen again.
Javid also urged landlords to send samples to the government’s testing facility, which can handle around 100 per day, with extra capacity available if necessary, as a “matter of urgency”.
Nick Paget-Brown, the Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, has admitted the body failed in its response to the Grenfell Tower disaster. He faced calls to resign earlier today, though the prime minister declined to add her voice to them. Paget-Brown apologised, saying:
Council workers have been on duty around the clock since 1.30am on the day of the fire, helping local residents and the families of the victims. I have nothing but praise for their truly heroic efforts
However, although individual council officers have worked so hard and delivered so much, it is clear that there has been a failing in our collective response. We could have done a better job at co-ordinating what happened on the ground and we weren’t able to re-home people as fast as we would have liked. We are truly sorry for that.
This is a tragedy of enormous proportions, and it has overwhelmed our normal capacity.
The statement said the council had found temporary accommodation for 250 households, adding that no one had been housed outside of London.
Work is under way to assess the housing needs of all Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk families to identify suitable accommodation. All the identified properties are in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, or a neighbouring borough, and none will be in towers.
A centre specifically for the friends and families of victims and those still missing had been set up in addition to the community assistance centre at the Westway, Paget-Brown said, adding that every household affected had been allocated a social worker to act as their main point of contact, if they wanted one.
People rightly have many questions about this tragedy, and they will be answered. Lessons will be learned from the Grenfell Tower fire and the government has launched a full public inquiry. We will cooperate in full with this and all other investigations.
Number of tower blocks on which combustible cladding found rises to 11
The number of high-rise blocks of flats found to have combustible cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower has risen to 11, across eight local authority areas in England, the communities and local government secretary, Sajid Javid, has said in a letter to MPs.
The Conservative party has said it did not break the law by contracting a company to call voters during the general election campaign after Channel 4 News obtained secret footage of the call centre.
According to the programme, the Tories may have broken data protection and election laws by using Blue Telecoms, a firm in Neath, South Wales, to directly contact voters in marginal seats.
The Conservatives said the company was hired to carry out legal market research and direct marketing.
Channel 4 News claimed workers may have been carrying out paid canvassing, which is banned under electoral law, because they pushed what appeared to be key Tory messages to undecided voters. One call script quoted by the programme said:
It was reported in the Daily Mirror in September last year that Jeremy Corbyn is not concerned about the numbers of people coming to live in the UK and it was reported on Sky News this year that Theresa May has restated her pledge to reduce net migration.
Just thinking about these reports in the media and the reports that you live in a marginal constituency that may determine who is prime minister... Does that make you more likely to back Theresa May or more likely to vote for Jeremy Corbyn?
A Conservative spokesman said:
Political parties of all colours pay for market research and direct marketing calls. All the scripts supplied by the party for these calls are compliant with data protection and information law.
You can read the background to this story here:
Updated
Here's one of the nine recently-refurbished Salford tower blocks that uses cladding similar to that on #Grenfell pic.twitter.com/Oj5jKxgryM
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) June 22, 2017
Following the news that nine tower blocks in Salford have similar cladding to that used on Grenfell Tower, residents in one of the buildings have told the Guardian that fire officers had been carrying out checks on each of its 22 floors earlier on Thursday. Many residents had also received a card from Pendleton Together marked “Urgent - please could you get in touch with us as soon as possible,” which said it referred to a fire survey.
Salford tower block residents got this leaflet today. Some told me fire officers have been carrying out checks today on all 22 floors. pic.twitter.com/CuZJBw4PGO
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) June 22, 2017
Dozens of people in Thorn Court have signed a petition demanding an urgent meeting with the council’s housing provider over what it described as a lack of sprinklers and fire alarms in the block, which was refurbished only last year. Residents also ask in the petition: “Why have we never had a fire alarm test in 26 years? I have never heard one. Why haven’t we had an evacuation test?”.
Dozens of residents here have signed petition outlining concerns about fire safety - and this was before the cladding news today pic.twitter.com/XP3hcc7Ycd
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) June 22, 2017
Michael Hinton said he felt especially vulnerable, being disabled and living on the 20th floor.
I’m horrified. It’s a hell of a situation, I’ve been here 14 years and I’ve been happy here but this business in London has frightened the life out of everybody. There’s three disabled people on this floor - I’m worried sick in our situation.
Angela Morgan, who also lives on the 20th floor, said the news about the cladding added to her concerns about the building’s fire safety.
There’s no sprinklers, no fire alarms, the front doors are automatic – imagine if there was a fire.
Morgan said she had lived happily in the building, which has envious views across Manchester, for seven years but had considered moving to a house since the Grenfell tower disaster. “I feel like crying - if anything happened you don’t stand a chance,” she said.
Updated
Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster have had their outstanding energy bills written off by by power companies, the government says.
Those who have been resettled will not be put on more expensive tariffs, while direct debit payments will be put on hold and people will not be charged for energy “for the period after the fire”. The business and energy secretary, Greg Clark, said:
Businesses should play an active role in society and I am pleased that all the energy companies supplying Grenfell Tower have come together and agreed to a set of principles in support of families who have already lost so much.
Thames Water has confirmed that accounts held by Grenfell Tower residents have been frozen, with outstanding debts written off and refunds for charges paid in advance.
Telecoms companies have also provided free chargers, mobile phones, and pre-loaded SIM cards for victims and are allowing those affected to use in-store web browsing and charging facilities in the immediate area.
EU leaders have taken a “historic” step towards closer defence integration, the European Council president, Donald Tusk, has announced.
All members of the 28-nation bloc will be invited to join a permanent defence structure. The step has become possible only because of the expected withdrawal form the EU of the UK, which has long opposed such co-operation.
The European Commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said it had been a “sleeping princess” for decades, adding: “The princess is now awakening.” Tusk added:
Leaders agreed on the need to set up permanent EU co-operation on defence. It is a historic step because such co-operation will allow the EU to move towards deeper integration in defence.
Our aim is for it to be ambitious and inclusive and every EU country is invited to join.
Within three months, member states will agree a common list of criteria and commitments together with concrete capability projects an order to take this co-operation off the ground.
European Union leaders have threatened to pass legislation to force internet companies to take down extremist and terrorist material if they fail to act voluntarily.
Theresa May and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, agreed in Paris last week to press social media and tech firms to move forward with the establishment of an industry-led forum to develop tools to automatically identify and remove unacceptable material, with the threat that regulatory or legislative action could follow if they fail to do so.
Announcing the EU’s position in a Brussels press conference, the European Council’s president, Donald Tusk, said:
Terrorism is still a major threat. We are fully determined to protect our people. To that end, the European Council agreed to deepen our efforts against foreign terrorist fighters.
We are calling on social media companies to do whatever is necessary to prevent the spread of terrorist material on the internet. In practice, this means developing new tools to detect and remove such material automatically. If need be, we are ready to also adopt relevant legislation.
The Scottish government has said no publicly-owned high rise blocks in Scotland use the aluminium composite cladding implicated in the Grenfell tower disaster, after checks were carried out by all of the country’s 32 councils.
Ministers have set up a new working group chaired by Angela Constance, the Scottish communities secretary, to review building and fire regulations with the fire brigade, building standards and housing officials.
Following Theresa May’s disclosure that seven tower blocks in England had so far been found with the same cladding, Constance said:
Scottish building regulations state that cladding on high rise domestic buildings built since 2005, and cladding added to existing high rise domestic buildings since 2005, should be made of non-combustible materials or a cladding system that has met stringent fire tests.
External cladding on high rise domestic buildings built before 2005 has to meet a Class 0 classification which was the most demanding anti-flame spread classification at that time.
We have confirmation from all local authorities that aluminium composite material has not been used in the cladding of their high rise domestic buildings. We are working intensively with local authorities to complete the picture for all high rise domestic buildings, including those that are privately owned, as quickly as possible.
Sprinkler systems and other fire suppression measures are to be fitted to residential tower blocks in Birmingham, the city’s council says.
Its leader, John Clancy, said the 213 blocks of flats the council owns would be looked at “as a matter of urgency ... to assess what work needs to be undertaken to reassure tenants that their homes are safe”. Clancy said he was prepared to find up to an estimated £31m to retrospectively put in place safety measures.
He has written to a host of other major councils to ask for their support in his campaign to convince central government to help pay for fire suppression measures in every council tower block in the country.
Cladding similar to Grenfell Tower found on nine more blocks
Nine tower blocks in Salford use similar cladding to that on Grenfell Tower, Salford city council has confirmed. The recently-refurbished buildings near the Salford Lad’s Club in Pendleton use aluminium composite material (ACM).
A council spokesman said samples of the cladding had been sent to DCLG to check whether or not they were combustible, but that it had not received the results.
The buildings are owned by the council but managed by Pendleton Together, which said it had commissioned a team of independent safety experts to review the cladding.
Extended patrols of the buildings would be introduced as a “precautionary safety measure” and to provide reassurance to residents, the company said. Pendleton Together said:
We are aware that our residents are asking a number of questions about the cladding used to refurbish the Pendleton blocks. We appreciate that this is obviously a matter of real concern to Pendleton residents and their families.
The cladding used in Pendleton is Aluminium Composite Material (ACM). This was fitted correctly to the manufacturer’s specification and certified by an independent expert.
We can confirm that all fire risk assessments for the Pendleton blocks are up to date and, to reassure our residents on Friday of last week, we announced an independent review. This review will examine the refurbishment work and our ongoing safety practices and will be undertaken by independent safety experts.
Updated
The Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba), which represents architects across the UK and Ireland, says it has been raising concerns for years about the new regulatory regime in construction which allows “fire risk self-assessment”.
It also says it was not happy with developments that mean the lead designer is no longer responsible for oversight of specification of materials and products.
In a statement, it said it was concerned about delays to a review of building regulations and the impact of the reform to fire safety rules in 2005; in particular, the introduction of “fire risk self-assessment and the repeal of fire certificate legislation with oversight by the fire authority”.
The “virtual disappearance of the role of clerk of works on site” has also been an issue for the Riba.
Updated
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has demanded greater transparency from the government over the measures being taken to make tower blocks safe.
From the very first taskforce meeting I attended I said we have got to provide the reassurance that people need because, not unreasonably, if you live in a tower block you are worried, if you have got friends and family who live in a tower block you are worried.
We need to make sure that even if they have got cladding that’s safe, has it been properly installed?
There are also other checks that need to be taking place - are the fire doors closed in those tower blocks, are there fire extinguishers, are there smoke alarms, is there access for fire engines?
My message to the government is be as transparent as you can. You must be transparent but also you must provide the resources to make sure we make those tower blocks as safe as they can be.
Asked if ministers had been as transparent as possible, Khan said they had not.
I’m pleased there’s been an improvement. They have definitely raised their game, but they have got to do even better.
They have got to make sure that on the ground in north Kensington there is swifter information, more information to the residents, outreach work is done to make sure there’s bespoke help given to every single family, every single resident.
Khan was speaking at the unveiling of a memorial to African and Caribbean troops who served in the two world wars. The defence secretary, Michael Fallon, who was also at the event, said the government was doing all it could to reassure tower block residents.
We have set up the inquiry to get to the cause of this. It’s very important we understand the facts. There are a number of theories around about cladding but it’s very important we get to the bottom of what actually caused the fire to spread so quickly and so devastatingly.
We are going to make sure we get those lessons learned as quickly as possible in the investigation.
Updated
Afternoon summary
- A London borough has said that it is going to remove cladding from tower blocks after discovering it is similar to the combustible panels being blamed for making the Grenfell Tower fire as deadly as it was. The news emerged after Theresa May used a statement to the Commons to unveil the first results of a nationwide inquiry to find out how many other tower blocks are covered in the same material. Seven tower blocks, in four different council areas, have now been identified as having this flammable cladding. (See 4.49pm.) One is in Tottenham, the local MP David Lammy has revealed. Camden is another borough on the list. Further checks on buildings around the country are still under way. In sometimes difficult exchanges, May also faced criticism from Labour MPs who felt she was not giving an unequivocal guarantee that central government would pay the full cost of any work needed to make buildings safe. May said that, where work was necessary, resources would be made available. But she seemed to leave open the possibility of local authorities having to make a contribution. (See 1.54pm.)
- Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, has said that the Grenfell Tower fire should force a rethink in the nation’s approach to social housing. Speaking in the Queen’s speech debate, he said:
I think it’s clear that any changes in the wake of this tragedy shouldn’t just be technical, or to legislation.
What happened at Grenfell Tower also showed us all that we need a change in attitude.
We all need to rethink our approach to social housing, and we need to reflect on the way that successive governments have engaged with and responded to social tenants.
We don’t yet know for sure whether this disaster could have been avoided if the people who called Grenfell Tower their home had been listened to.
But we do know that for far too long, that their voices fell on deaf ears, so if nothing else, let the legacy of Grenfell be that such voices will never, ever be ignored again.
- A government-supported initiative to cut red tape considered a push to dismantle EU regulations on the fire safety of cladding and other construction materials in the weeks before the Grenfell Tower fire. As Sandra Laville reports, a document obtained by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and seen by the Guardian, singled out EU regulation which covers the safety and efficacy of construction materials as among the first to target for dismantling. Among the products covered in the EU regulation is cladding. The document was produced on 10 May for the Red Tape Initiative, a body supported by the government, to “seize the opportunities” of Brexit to cut red tape. Entitled The EU’s Impact on the UK Housing and Construction Industry, it picks out the Construction Products Regulation (EU 305/2011) as “red tape folly” which is “expensive and burdensome for small businesses”.
- Norman Lamb has announced that he will not stand for the Lib Dem leadership. (See 4.14pm.)
- The population of the UK has seen its sharpest annual increase in nearly 70 years, official figures have revealed. As the Press Association reports, demographers’ latest calculations show there were an estimated 65,648,000 people living in the country at the end of June last year. Over the 12 months to the middle of 2016, the number of inhabitants went up by 0.8%, or 538,000 - an increase roughly equivalent to the population of Bradford. In numerical terms this is the largest rise since 551,000 in the year to mid-1947, which was caused mainly by a rise in births in the postwar baby boom. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net international migration continued to be the main driver behind the growth, while there was also a rise in births and fewer deaths.
That’s all from me for today.
My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over now.
Updated
Here is more on the latest figures for the number of tower blocks with combustible cladding. This is from the Press Association:
Combustible cladding has been found on seven high-rise blocks of flats in four local authority areas in England, Downing Street has said.
Samples taken from the buildings failed government tests to determine whether the cladding is combustible but that does not mean the tower blocks are unsafe, with that to be determined after more checks by the fire and rescue services, Theresa May’s deputy spokeswoman said.
Landlords are informing tenants in the buildings about the failed tests and the next steps.
The spokeswoman told a regular Westminster briefing: “Failing this test does not necessarily mean that your building may be declared unsafe.
“It will be subject to further testing that is undertaken by the fire services to do that and if that is the case then we will be obviously working with local authorities and the landlords to make sure that nobody stays in a building that’s proved to be unsafe.”
Updated
Combustible cladding found on seven tower blocks in four areas, government says
The Department for Communities and Local Government has updated its figure for the number of tower blocks now found to be covered with combustible cladding of the type used on Grenfell Tower. A spokesman said seven high-rise buildings have now failed the test.
The seven buildings are in four local authority areas, No 10 said.
Although Camden council has said it is removing cladding from five tower blocks, not all of those five buildings are included in the DCLG figures.
The DCLG is not naming the four local authorities because it wants to give councils the chance to tell residents first.
UPDATE: A DCLG source said that three of the seven tower blocks that have failed the cladding test are Camden buildings. The two other buildings which have been earmarked to have their cladding removed have not yet been tested, which is why they are not included in the figures, he said.
Updated
Noman Lamb on why he is not standing for the Lib Dem leadership
Norman Lamb has written an article for the Guardian explaining why he is not running for the party leadership. Here is an excerpt.
I have just fought a gruelling campaign to win my North Norfolk seat. Attempting to win a seat for the Liberal Democrats in an area that voted quite heavily to leave the EU was bound to be a challenge. Not only was the party’s position on Brexit toxic to many erstwhile Liberal Democrat voters in North Norfolk, but I found myself sympathising with those who felt that the party was not listening to them and was treating them with some disdain.
I abstained on article 50 because I felt it was wrong in principle to vote against, given that we had all voted to hold the referendum in the first place. For many in the party that abstention was an act of betrayal. I have been accused of supporting a hard Brexit – the last thing I want – while a Lib Dem source told the London Evening Standard this week that the abstention “looks like he can’t make a tough call”. It is actually quite tough to go against your party, and I did it on a matter of principle.
We need to understand why so many people get frustrated with remote power – something that Liberals should understand. The European Union is too often dysfunctional and sclerotic, yet progressive internationalists have been reluctant to admit this. While we have always recognised the need for reform of the EU, the Liberal Democrats have been perceived as being too tolerant of its failings.
And here is Lamb’s article in full.
Updated
Georgia Gould, the leader of Camden Council, said she was “shocked” when she got the phone call last night to tell her the cladding on the five high rises in the Chalcot Estate in Swiss Cottage was the same as in Grenfell Tower.
The council launched an immediate review of its 13 clad towers in the borough following the inferno in west London and found the five in Chalcot used polyethylene cladding rather than fire resistant cladding as it had specified when it commissioned the refurbishment 10 years ago. Gould said:
Money is not the problem here. Our tenants living in these blocks are our priority and we will deal with the money, discuss it with the government later.
Of course people are feeling scared. But we had a fire here in 2012 and it was contained and people remember that so there is some reassurance in that, but we are not taking anything for granted.
We moved very swiftly. We had people here the day after Grenfell and we knew it was different, there are fire breaks between floors and fire stops around windows.
But we couldn’t take chances and literally took the cladding in a cab to the testing Centre in Watford.
When I got the news last night that it was the same, it was a shock to me.
The council is also going to review the “stay put” policy is in place in all its flats, she added.
According to the BBC’s Norman Smith, Norman Lamb has decided not to contest the Lib Dem leadership.
Understand @normanlamb not standing for @libdem leadership cos of party's stance on Brexit.
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) June 22, 2017
Lamb ran against Tim Farron in 2015 and came closer to winning than many people expected. But within the last year the Lib Dems have made their opposition to Brexit almost their key selling point, and this creates problems for Lamb. His North Norfolk constituency voted to leave and, mindful of this, he split with his party and refused to vote against the bill allowing the government to trigger article 50.
Sir Vince Cable has already announced he is standing. Sir Ed Davey is also expected to put his name forward.
Updated
On Sky News this afternoon the Labour MP David Lammy called for Nicholas Paget-Brown, the Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, to resign.
[Paget-Brown] should go because of the awful situation the people of Kensington have found themselves in. It is clear that he has lost the confidence of significant tracts of his own community. It is clear that people made complaints and did not get significant response. It is clear that the management of this situation doesn’t just go to the chief executive [who has resigned], it goes to him. And the decent thing for him to do is to step aside. And I think there are real questions about how decent this man [is] ...
The situation in Kensington and Chelsea ... is a scandal, frankly. How can you have huge reserves and be spending that on giving money back to your wealthier citizens, but not supporting your poorest and actually putting sprinklers in the building. It is for those reasons he should go.
This letter to the Guardian last week explains what Lammy is referring to when he talks about Kensington and Chelsea giving money back to its wealthy residents.
Updated
Bob O’Toole, chairman of the residents association of the Burnham block, one of the five high-rises on the Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage, London, was called to an emergency meeting at Camden council to be told the news on Thursday morning about the cladding being replaced. (See 12.09pm.) He said:
The cladding is going to be changed on all the blocks. They are looking at starting in about six weeks. In the meantime we are going to have 24/7 fire safety patrols in all the blocks.
O’Toole is meeting residents tonight to discuss the emergency.
However, he said he was “not too concerned” about it because they had a fire in Taplow block two years ago and it was contained within the flat despite temperatures reaching 1,200C (2,190F).
Updated
Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Nottingham city councils confirmed that none of their high-rise blocks had cladding like that on Grenfell Tower. All five said they did not yet know about privately owned buildings in their areas.
A spokeswoman from Newcastle city council said they were now checking building regulation application records for older residential buildings the local authority did not own. “This is to establish if similar cladding works have been carried out as part of historic refurbishments,” she said.
In Leeds, councillor Debra Coupar sought to reassure residents in council-owned blocks.
“Some residents have raised concerns about the type of cladding used on seven multistorey blocks which were recently reclad,” she said.
“I would like to reassure them that the cladding used is fire retardant and is different to the cladding used on the Grenfell flats. All of the work undertaken by our contractor was independently inspected, and annual fire risk assessments are completed by a certified independent company.”
Manchester city council said it was still working to establish whether any of its tower blocks used flammable cladding. Liverpool city council, which does not own any tower blocks, said it was still investigating whether privately owned high-rises in the city had the cladding.
Updated
Theresa May is at the EU summit in Brussels. The last two weeks haven’t exactly gone very well for her, but she seems to have found something to laugh about with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.
As she arrived at the summit, May said she would be setting out “how the United Kingdom proposes to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and see the rights of UK citizens in Europe protected.”
Tenants in 700 flats in the five tower blocks that make up the Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage in London received a hand-delivered letter from Camden council this morning advising them that the cladding was the same as that in Grenfell Tower and would be removed immediately. (See 12.09pm.)
Rydon, the company that won the contract for refurbishment in both Swiss Cottage and Grenfell, is now facing potential legal action.
Tenants arriving back from the shops were shocked to hear there were letters on their doorsteps telling them the cladding was the same as that in the west London inferno.
Rosie Closier, 23, said: “It’s been very stressful. I live on the 12th floor and after Grenfell me and my partner worked out how we were going to get out if there was a fire.”
She is seven and a half months pregnant and has three cats. She said:
I have been very worried ever since the fire and I feel better now the cladding is coming off.
David Tusk, who has lived in the Taplow block since 1968, said:
When there was a fire here a few years ago it didn’t spread. But with the refurbishment they changed the windows and they don’t open fully they just tilt out, so I don’t know how you could even jump out if you had to.
Shirley Phillips, 72, who lives on the second floor of Taplow, said she was not concerned because there had been a fire two years ago on an upper floor and it was contained.
But she was not happy with the continued safety instructions to stay in her flat in the event of a fire. “I won’t be staying put if there is a fire though. I will have run a mile,” she said.
Updated
Samples are being taken of the cladding used on three high-rise blocks within Barnet borough by specialists using abseiling equipment.
Two workers in helmets were seen dangling on climbing rope off the edge of Harpenmead Point, removing panels with drills. Similar samples are to be taken from neighbouring blocks Templewood Point and Granville Point.
Barnet council has written to residents of the three blocks to reassure them that certain components in the cladding, put in place in 2012, are different to those which were used on Grenfell Tower.
However, the council believes the rain-screen panels are similar to those used at Grenfell Tower. The government has said that “cladding using a composite aluminium panel with a polyethylene core would be non-compliant with current building regulations guidance. This material should not be used as a cladding on buildings over 18 metres.”
The letter to residents explains that specialists will be on site on Thursday collecting samples of the cladding.
Michael Dunleavy, 79, lives on the seventh floor of Granville Point and has lived in the building since 1985. He said he immediately contacted the council the day after the Grenfell fire to make sure the cladding on his building was safe.
“I do feel reassured by the letter, it says it’s not the same combustible material,” he said. “I’m getting on a bit. I’d struggle to get out of here quickly if there was a fire.”
Specialists using abseil equipment are removing samples of cladding from this tower block in Barnet, to be sent off for further testing. pic.twitter.com/Y3pxyhi6Jq
— Jamie Grierson (@JamieGrierson) June 22, 2017
Updated
Grenfell Tower fire summary
- At least three tower blocks have been found to be covered with cladding of the type used at Grenfell Tower, the government has revealed. The combustible cladding is thought to have been responsible for the fire being so deadly and checks are urgently being carried out on buildings around the country to find out how many other buildings have it. Theresa May gave the preliminary findings when she provided a statement to MPs. Later the communities department said at least three tower blocks are covered in the flammable material. Downing Street said up to 600 tower blocks could be affected, but this figure was later retracted because it was based on a misunderstanding. (See 11.11am and 1.25pm.)
- Camden council in London has announced it is removing cladding from five tower bocks because of concerns about the material used. (See 12.09pm.)
- May has refused to back calls for the Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, Nicholas Paget-Brown, to resign over his authority’s botched response to the fire. The council’s chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, has resigned in response to pressure from Sajid Javid, the communities secretary. Asked if Paget-Brown should go too, May said it was a matter for the Tory group on the council. She later revealed that she had spoken to Paget-Brown herself. But, when asked if she told him he should quit, she just said she told him survivors needed better support.
- May has said resources will be made available to ensure other tower blocks are made safe. But she was repeatedly challenged by Labour MPs who felt she was not giving a guarantee that central government would pay the full costs of any safety work councils want to carry out. In response to a question from Labour’s Rachel Reeves, she said:
The government is working with local authorities. We will ensure that any essential works that are necessary, in terms of remedial action for safety of these blocks in relation to fire, are taken. There will be different circumstances in different local authorities. We will ensure that the work can be undertaken.
Later, when challenged again by the Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft, who said May did not seem to be committing to fully funding the retrofitting of sprinklers and other measures, May said:
I have made it clear that where work is necessary, resources will be available to ensure that that work can be undertaken. But it is for the government to work with the local authorities to ensure that that takes place.
- May said she would name the judge heading the Grenfell Tower inquiry within the next few days. She also said she wanted the judge to produce an interim report.
- She said the fire service would make an announcement within the next 48 hours about whether the cladding on Grenfell Tower met safety regulations. MPs were surprised when May refused to say whether or not the material was used in accordance with safety rules, because on Sunday Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said the material was used illegally. (See 10.34am.) But then, when pressed on this, May said it was important for MPs not to say anything that might prejudice any prosecutions.
-
May said she did not believe that retrofitting sprinklers in tower blocks was always necessary. She said that “in not all cases will it be the case that the retrofitting of sprinklers is actually going to be the thing that makes the difference”.
- She said immigration checks would not be imposed on Grenfell Tower survivors.
- She said she had returned to Kensington last night for another meeting with survivors. But she did not reveal that, as this video shows, she was booed.
- Jeremy Corbyn told MPs that the fire was “an outrage” and that all the deaths could have been avoided. Responding to May, he said:
At least 79 people are dead. It is both a tragedy and an outrage because every single one of those deaths could have been avoided.
The Grenfell Tower residents themselves had raised concerns about the lack of fire safety in their block.
The Grenfell action group had warned, and I quote, “It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell action group firmly believes that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation”.
The prime minister said ‘it is right that the CEO of Kensington and Chelsea has now resigned”. It may be, but why aren’t the political leaders taking responsibility too?
From Hillsborough, to the child sex abuse scandal, to Grenfell Tower the pattern is consistent. Working-class people’s voices are ignored, their concerns dismissed, by those in power.
Updated
Government withdraws claim that 600 tower blocks have Grenfell Tower-type cladding
The government has now clarified the line given out at the No 10 lobby briefing about 600 tower blocks having cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower. (See 11.53am.) The spokesperson used the word “similar”, but that was misleading. The government is now saying 600 is the figure for the number of tower blocks with cladding of some kind.
A communities department spokesman said:
The situation is that 600 buildings have cladding. It is not similar; it is all types of cladding. Of these 600, we want landlords to check if they have aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding. Of those 600, some of those would have ACM; we want to test them to see if they have ACM.
Updated
In the Commons (see 10.24am) the Labour MP David Lammy spoke about his friend Khadija Saye, a talented artist killed in the Grenfell Tower fire. Lammy has also been encouraging people to support the campaign to raise money for the Khadija Saye Memorial Fund, set up “to support young artists like Khadija to realise their potential”.
Updated
Camden to remove cladding from five tower blocks
The London borough of Camden said it would immediately remove cladding from five tower blocks in the borough because it is similar to that which burned rapidly on Grenfell Tower.
Following independent testing of cladding on the Chalcots estate by the Building Research Establishment, the council leader, Georgia Gould, revealed the outer cladding panels on the blocks were also made up of aluminium panels with a polyethylene core.
Until the cladding is removed the council pledged round-the-clock fire safety patrols on the estate’s corridors “to reassure residents and carry out enhanced fire safety checks”.
“The panels that were fitted were not to the standard that we had commissioned,” said Gould. “In light of this, we will be informing the contractor that we will be taking urgent legal advice.” She continued:
Camden council has decided it will immediately begin preparing to remove these external cladding panels from the five tower blocks on the Chalcots estate. Camden council will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are reassured about the safety of their homes.
However, the council said the insulation used “significantly differs” from that on Grenfell Tower because it includes “fire-resistant rock wool insulation designed to prevent the spread of fire and fire-resistant sealant between floors, designed to stop a high-intensity flat fire from spreading to neighbouring flats”.
The council said this arrangement previously contained a fire at a flat in Taplow block in 2012.
Meanwhile Barnet council has written to residents in three towers which inspections on Monday revealed were clad in the same aluminium sandwich panels that are believed to have been used at Grenfell.
Granville Point, Harpenmead Point and Templemead Point all use the Reynobond PE panels – aluminium panels with a polyethylene core – which were supplied to the Grenfell Tower refurbishment project.
The council has sought to reassure residents that while the panels are the same, “crucially it uses different insulation materials, which are made from a non-combustible mineral fibre material”.
The council leader, Richard Cornelius, said:
To ensure such a tragedy is not repeated in Barnet, we have a responsibility to our community to make sure that safety systems are of the highest standard – including investigating whether sprinklers would be appropriate in our high-rise tower blocks. We will be calling on our housing committee to oversee a programme of investment, based on advice from the London fire brigade, to provide added safety and reassurance to our residents. If sprinklers are needed, they will be fitted.
In Newham, the council has identified three residential towers as using an aluminium composite material in its cladding which has been sent for testing. They include Ferrier Point. “We will take every action necessary,” a spokeswoman said.
Updated
Khan says government must consider rehousing people while combustible cladding removed
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has called for residents in hundreds of tower blocks with flammable cladding to be rehoused immediately unless the government can reassure them that their homes are safe.
His comments came after the government confirmed that councils estimate that 600 high-rise buildings have similar flammable exterior cladding to that used on Grenfell Tower.
Khan said the figures confirm “people’s worst fears”.
In a statement he said:
There is now a huge amount of work to urgently do to ensure that it is safe for people to remain in properties affected. If not, the government must support people being rehoused immediately while cladding is being removed.
He also urged landlords to send cladding for testing. He added:
The government needs to ensure all resources necessary are made available to local authorities for the testing process, for checking those tower blocks and for rehousing local people in their local community.
Govt must ensure resources needed for testing tower blocks for combustible cladding & rehousing people locally are urgently made available. pic.twitter.com/rrEVW00zcx
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 22, 2017
Khan also called for an interim report on the Grenfell Tower fire to be published this summer.
Updated
Here is more on the latest No 10 statement about the prevalence of Grenfell Tower-type cladding. This is from the Press Association.
Hundreds of tower blocks in England could be covered in similar cladding to Grenfell Tower, councils have estimated.
So far tests have revealed that combustible cladding has been found on at least three tower blocks across the UK, the government has said.
But Downing Street said English councils estimated that 600 high-rise buildings used similar cladding to the block in west London which was the scene of tragedy last week ...
The Department for Communities and Local Government is coordinating the process and facilities allow for 100 samples a day to be tested.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “So far, three samples have been found to be combustible.”
She added: “In terms of how many buildings and how many homes have this type of cladding, the estimate provided to us by councils is that there are approximately 600 high-rise buildings with similar cladding.
“We are in touch with all the local authorities to encourage them to urgently send us the samples and then we will carry out the checks that we need to see where we are with that.”
UPDATE AT 1.25PM: The government has now clarified the line given out at the Number 10 lobby briefing about 600 tower blocks having cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower. The spokesperson used the word “similar”, but that was misleading. The government is now saying 600 is the figure for the number of tower blocks with cladding of some kind.
A communities department spokesman said:
The situation is that 600 buildings have cladding. It is not similar, it is all types of cladding. Of these 600, we want landlords to check if they have aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding. Of those 600, some of those would have ACM; we want to test them to see if they have ACM.
Updated
The Press Association has just snapped this, from the No 10 lobby briefing.
Councils in England estimate that 600 high-rise buildings have similar cladding to Grenfell Tower, Downing Street said.
Updated
The Liberal Democrats are demanding the resignation of Nicholas Paget-Brown, the Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea council. Earlier Theresa May refused to back calls for Paget-Brown to go, even though the council chief executive has been forced out. (See 11.07am.) But the Lib Dem MP Tom Brake put out a statement saying:
The prime minister notes that the chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea has resigned, but what about the Conservative political leader? It was a political decision to stockpile huge cash reserves while apparently skimping on safety measures to protect disadvantaged members of the community.
No one is looking for a witch hunt, but if heads are starting to roll, they should be the right ones. There must be political accountability.
Responding to Amber Rudd, Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, asks if Rudd accepts that austerity has contributed to weakening security. And she asks if Rudd accepts the police need more resources.
Rudd says Abbott should wait for the outcome of the Anderson review before concluding that police cuts were a factor.
Updated
Rudd announces review of handling of recent terror attacks
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, is making a statement now about the recent terror attacks. She says 36 people have been killed, and more than 150 people were hospitalised.
She says these acts of terrorism represent the very worst of humanity.
She says we are seeing new trends in terror attacks.
(What Rudd is saying now is quite similar to what Theresa May said in her No 10 statement after the Borough Market attack.)
Rudd says there will be a review of Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy “to make sure the police and the security services have what they need to keep us safe”.
She also announces that she has asked David Anderson QC, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to review the handling of the recent terror attacks.
- David Anderson, former independent reviewer of terror legislation, to carry out a review of recent terror attacks, Rudd says.
From Home Secretary's statement in Parliament just now. A remarkable if rather daunting privilege. pic.twitter.com/PA7rS3Z7jd
— David Anderson QC (@bricksilk) June 22, 2017
Updated
Theresa May’s statement is over.
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, is making a statement now about the recent terror attacks. I will cover the opening of this before coming back to a summary of what we’ve learnt from the Grenfell Tower exchanges.
Combustible cladding found on at least three tower blocks, government reveals
The Press Association has more on the discovery of combustible cladding on more tower blocks.
Combustible cladding has been found on at least three tower blocks across the UK, the government has said.
The at-risk buildings are not being identified until the landlords have had the opportunity to inform tenants, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Councils were told to provide the government with details of the cladding used on high-rises by Monday and three samples were found to be combustible.
Flammable panelling on the outside of Grenfell Tower is suspected to have aided the rapid spread of last week’s blaze, trapping dozens inside.
Updated
May refuses to back calls for Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea council to resign
Labour’s Toby Perkins asks if May thinks the Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea council should resign.
May says that is a matter for the Tory group on the council.
Labour’s Diana Johnson asks if May has told the council leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, to resign.
May says she did have a conversation with him. She told him to ensure the survivors were properly looked after.
- May refuses to back calls for Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea council to resign.
Updated
Labour’s Chris Williamson asks why May does not accept fire service advice and install sprinklers in all tower blocks.
May says it is not as simple as that. In some blocks, that might not be helpful, she suggests.
Vicky Ford, a Conservative, asks if the inquiry will look at the safety of people working in tower blocks, as well as people living in them.
May says she does want the inquiry to look into this.
Labour’s Jack Dromey says there are 213 tower blocks in Birmingham, housing 10,000 families. He says May is wrong about the Lakanal House inquest. It did recommend the installation of sprinklers.
May reads out from its recommendation. It said providers should consider installing sprinklers in all tower blocks.
Labour’s Anneliese Dodds asks if the government will now abandon the “one in, two out” rule for regulation (saying two regulations must be scrapped for every new one introduced) for fire safety.
May says the government has always taken fire safety very seriously. This will be an issue for the inquiry, she says.
Updated
Labour’s Vicky Foxcroft says May has not said the government will pay councils to enable them to carry out work to make flats safe. Will it?
May says, where work is necessary, resources will be available to ensure that that work can be undertaken.
Labour’s Alison McGovern asks May who she thought has forgotten “these people”. Was it George Osborne, who imposed cuts, or ministers who ignored fire safety warnings, or May herself, who is treating “these people” as others?
The prime minister, in concluding her statement, said that we should resolve never to forget these people. I would like to ask her who she thinks forgot these people?
Was it the former chancellor of the exchequer, who defunded local authorities, including my own, still struggling with the consequences of the New Ferry explosion?
Was it former ministers who ignored pleas from this House on fire safety, or is it her, who sees other people in Britain as these people rather than our friends and our neighbours.
May refers to the statement she gave when she became PM last summer when she said she wanted a country that works for everyone.
Updated
Pressed by Labour’s Rachel Reeves on whether the government will pay for councils to remove dangerous cladding, May says the government is working with councils. There will be “different circumstances” in different places, she says. But she says the government will ensure that the work gets done.
- May refused to commit to the government paying councils in full for the cost of removing dangerous cladding from tower blocks. There will be “different circumstances” in different places, she said. But she said the work would be carried out.
Updated
I have been updating some of the earlier posts with direct quotes from the exchanges. To get them to show up, you may need to refresh the page.
Labour’s Karen Buck says she is still waiting to hear May say that the government will underwrite the costs to councils of dealing with dangerous cladding.
May says the government is providing the testing. And it will work with councils to address this matter, she says.
Updated
Labour’s Maria Eagle asks what is being done to ensure landlords can swiftly deal with combustible cladding.
May says that work is under way already. Buildings can be made safe in a number of ways.
Updated
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Conservative, says surveys show people do not want to live in tower blocks. Can we get rid of them so they are a thing of the past?
May says some people don’t like living in tower blocks. But others are comfortable living in them. We do need to look at social housing, she says.
Updated
Labour’s Angela Eagle asks if it was right for Kensington and Chelsea to be giving money back to council tax payers when their housing had these problems.
May says the inquiry will look at how the regulations were applied. The regulations date from 2006. It will also look at how they were applied, and it will get to the bottom of who was responsible.
Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts says those in government need to “search their souls” over their possible responsibility.
May says the government will do everything it can to ensure this never happens again.
May says she expects to announce the name of the judge leading the inquiry within the next few days.
In response to another question about the cladding, May says this is part of the criminal investigation. She says MPs will want to ensure that nothing that they do prejudices any prosecution.
- May suggests she is refusing to say whether or not the cladding was installed illegally because she does not want to prejudice any prosecutions.
Theresa May’s reluctance to say whether or not the Grenfell Tower cladding was compliant with building regulations is strange because on Sunday Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said it was illegal on buildings of that height.
Labour’s Yvette Cooper says the cladding used on Grenfell Tower is a standard product. She does not understand why May cannot say whether or not it was compliant with building regulations.
May repeats the point about the material being tested by the fire service.
Updated
Fire service due to publish results of tests on Grenfell Tower cladding within 48 hours, May says
Labour’s Hilary Benn asks if the cladding used on Grenfell Tower was compliant with building regulations.
May says the fire service is testing the cladding on the building. It expects to make the results available in the next 48 hours.
- Fire service due to publish results of tests on the Grenfell Tower cladding within 48 hours, May says.
Updated
The Lib Dem MP Tom Brake asks if the government will ban the use of combustible materials.
May says building regulations set out what can and cannot be used. The inquiry will look at this, she says.
Updated
Kevin Hollinrake, a Conservative, asks if the government will provide encouragement to retrofit sprinklers when they are carrying out refurbishments.
May acknowledges that the Lakanal House inquest did say this should be encouraged.
But she says this has to be done carefully. She suggests that in some cases retrofitting sprinklers will not be helpful.
Updated
The Labour MP David Lammy says a woman that he and his wife mentored died in the fire. He asks why more is not being said about the criminal investigation.
May says there is an ongoing police investigation. It is not for her to get involved. But if people should be charged, they will be.
Richard Bacon, a Conservative, asks the government to impose punitive taxes on owners who leave flats empty. He says in London foreign landlords buy luxury flats and never use them.
In recent years London has seen many high-quality high-rises being built, often financed with hot foreign money and then left empty for years, sometimes with the kitchens clingfilmed and pristine.
While we all understand there are occasions where a landlord will need to leave an apartment empty from time to time, when brand new properties are empty for many years does the prime minister think it’s right to discuss with (the chancellor) changing the taxation regime so that, as in New York City, these people face punitive taxation?
May says her understanding is that the number of homes left unoccupied is relatively low.
I understand, in fact, the number of empty homes is actually at low levels at the moment, and of course we always look to see what we can do. What we want to ensure is that people are housed and that properties are being used for the purpose for which they have been built.
Updated
Labour’s Harriet Harman, whose constituency includes Lakanal House, says the news that more tower blocks with combustible cladding have been found is chilling. She says May must get a grip on this. She should use Cobra to set a deadline for councils to check their cladding. She must also commit resources to replace that within a certain timetable.
Harman says the Lakanal House inquest recommendations have not been acted upon, contrary to what May said. The inquest recommended the installation of sprinklers, she says. If they had been acted upon, Grenfell Tower would not have happened.
It’s not good enough to just congratulate or encourage other councils. [May] must take a grip on it personally.
She said the Lakanal House coroner’s inquest findings had been acted upon. But I will tell her they have not.
The coroner in 2013 in Lakanal House said that those deaths were avoidable, that there should been sprinklers, that there should have been change in the fire instructions, that there should have been greater supervision of contracts and fire inspection.
[May] said that it was an unimaginable tragedy and that those deaths should not have happened.
They would not have happened if the government had acted on the Lakanal coroner’s inquest rulings.
May says the Lakanal House coroner did not say there should be sprinklers in all tower blocks like this.
She says there are a number of steps councils can take. The government expects them do that.
Updated
Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative MP, says people in positions of authority will be fearing the public inquiry. He asks how will local residents get a proper say in the terms of reference?
May says it will be a judge-led inquiry. It will be completely independent. She wants people to know that, when it publishes its findings, they will represent the truth.
Updated
Emma Dent Coad, the new Labour MP for Kensington, says she is speaking on behalf of a frightened and traumatised community.
She asks if the goverment will reverse fire service cuts.
May says when she visited the Grenfell Tower site, she asked the fires services if they had the resources they needed. She says she was told they did.
She says this will also be an issue for the inquiry.
Ian Blackford, the new SNP leader at Westminster, is speaking now.
He asks if the government will make more money available if the £5m for the relief fund is not enough.
He says all of those with a legitimate interest in the inquiry must be able to participate in it.
He says he grew up in social housing. He wants people to have fond memories of social housing.
May starts by saying money is available to fund the testing of cladding in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as England.
She says the £5m will be increased if necessary.
Updated
Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative former work and pensions secretary, asks if it is feasible to retrofit these old tower blocks. Would it be better to pull these buildings down and replace them?
Can I however, in the course of the public inquiry, ask her to add to the public inquiry one further remit?
And that is to look at whether or not this whole process of retrofitting these old tower blocks is in fact viable at all, and whether or not there is a better way to both house and support tenants in these areas, without the use of many of these incredibly badly designed and very faulty tower blocks.
Could she ask the public inquiry to look carefully at whether or not it’s feasible now for us to look at bringing some of these down, and approving more family-friendly housing.
May says Duncan Smith is asking for the remit of the inquiry to go wider. She will reflect on this. But it is important for the residents to be happy with the terms of reference.
He’s suggesting that the inquiry should in fact go a great deal further than looking into this particular incident.
I think what is important, and we will ensure that the survivors and local residents have an input into the terms of reference for this inquiry, to make sure it is an inquiry they can have confidence in, and that they know will produce the results that they need and the justice that they need.
I think we need to ensure, I will reflect on his comments, but I think it’s important primarily that the local residents feel confidence in the terms of reference in the inquiry and that it will get to the truth as they need it.
Updated
May is replying to Corbyn.
She starts by joining Corbyn in praising the work of Emma Dent Coad, the new Labour MP for Kensington, for the work she has done following the fire.
She says many of the issues that Corbyn raised will be matters for the inquiry.
On Lakanal House, she says the inquest did not recommend changes to building regulations. It recommended changes to the guidance on building regulations. That was acted upon, she says.
She says she set up the Hillsborough inquiry. That was because she took the view that people were being treated unfairly because of who they are. That must change, she says.
Updated
Here is the start of the Press Association story about Theresa May’s opening statement.
Theresa May has said tests on tower blocks following the Grenfell tragedy have shown cladding on some blocks is “combustible”.
The prime minister said local authorities and fire services concerned are taking “all possible steps” to ensure buildings are safe and residents have been informed.
May also said the tragedy will not be used to carry out immigration checks on those affected by the tragedy or on those providing “vital” information to identify victims or to assist the criminal investigation.
May, making a statement to the Commons, said “no stone will be left unturned” in the inquiry.
She also said: “For any guilty parties there will be nowhere to hide.”
May said she expects an interim report to be produced as “early as possible” by the chair of the inquiry.
Jeremy Corbyn is responding now.
He says he is glad that the Kensington and Chelsea chief executive has resigned, but he asks why the political leaders of the council are not taking responsibility for what happened.
He says the concerns of residents about the safety of Grenfell Tower were ignored. There is a pattern here, he says. He says the views of working-class people are not taken seriously.
From Hillsborough, to the child sex abuse scandal, to Grenfell Tower - the pattern is consistent: working-class people’s voices are ignored, their concerns dismissed by those in power.
The Grenfell Tower residents and North Kensington community deserve answers and thousands and thousands of people living in tower blocks around the country need very urgent reassurance.
He says the fire alarms did not work.
He asks why residents were advised to stay put.
Sprinklers should have been fitted, he says. He asks why they were not.
He says councils have cut back on fire inspections because they don’t have the staff to carry out this work following all the cuts.
He says lessons must be learnt from the public inquiry.
And the government must now fully implement the recommendations from the inquest into the Lakanal House fire in 2009.
He says removing flammable cladding will cost a huge amount. But that money must be made available, he says.
He asks if the counselling and support services will be made available to people living nearby who witnessed the fire, as well as to people living in Grenfell Tower.
This has been a wake-up call to the whole country, he says.
He says residents of tower blocks are concerned and frightened for their own safety.
He says he hopes this tragedy will change attitudes.
Updated
Inspections have found more flats with combustible cladding of the kind used on Grenfell Tower, May says
May says 151 homes were destroyed. Most of those were in the tower, but some were in the immediate vicinity.
She says people will be rehoused in equivalent homes. Some 68 flats have already been offered at cost price in a new block of flats, she says.
She says no survivors will be forced to move somewhere they don’t want to go. She says if any MPs hear of this happening, they should get in touch with the government.
May says that “for any guilty parties, there will be nowhere to hide”.
There will be an inquiry. She says she expects it to publish an interim report as soon as possible.
She says, although she does not want to say now what definitely caused the fire, checks are being carried out on flats to see if they also have combustible cladding of the type used in Grenfell Tower.
I know many others living in tall residential buildings will have concerns about their safety after what happened at Grenfell.
All social landlords have been instructed to carry out additional fire safety checks on tower blocks and ensure the appropriate safety and response measures are in place.
We’ve also taken steps to make private landlords aware and make our checking facilities available to them for free.
The house should, of course, be careful on speculating what caused this fire.
But, as a precaution, the government has arranged to test cladding in all relevant tower blocks.
Shortly before I came to the chamber, I was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible.
The relevant local authorities and local fire services have been informed, and, as I speak, they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe and to inform affected residents.
She says this morning she received reports saying some flats do have this cladding.
- Inspections have found more flats with combustible cladding of the kind used on Grenfell Tower, May says. She says those buildings will be made safe.
She says 100 tower blocks a day are being inspected.
More information will be released later about where these flats are, she says.
She says these buildings will be made safe. No one will be forced to live in homes that are not safe.
Updated
May says Grenfell Tower survivors will not be subject to immigration checks
Theresa May is speaking now.
She starts by apologising to Jeremy Corbyn for the short notice he has had.
She says she received an update this morning that she felt she had to bring to the Commons.
Some 79 people died or are missing presumed dead, she says. She says the death toll may rise. In some cases whole families died, she says.
She says the response to the fire was not good enough. She says she has apologised for that.
On her first visit she met firefighters. Then she met survivors in hospitals, and later residents in Downing Street. She says she returned to Kensington last night to meet families again.
- May says she returned to Kensington last night for another meeting with families.
She says the chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council has resigned.
The government set up a gold command structure to provide relief, because the council could not cope, she says.
She thanks those involved in the relief effort.
There are around 600 people on site providing support to victims, she says. The Westway community centre has been turned into a hub for them. It is staffed by 40 civil servants from six departments.
There have been almost 700 visits to it, she says.
She says every family is being paid £5,000 to help them cope. Every adult over 16 in those families is getting £500 in cash. She says other payments are being made, for example to those impacted.
She says it is important for people to know that they can keep the money. They won’t have to pay it back, and it will not affect their eligibility for benefits.
She says the government will not be carrying out immigration checks on any of those affected.
I would like to reassure people that we will not use this tragic incident as a reason to carry out immigration checks on those involved or on those providing information to identify victims or those assisting with the criminal investigation.
We will make sure that all victims, irrespective of their immigration status, will be able to access the services they need including healthcare and accommodation.
- May says Grenfell Tower survivors will not be subject to immigration checks.
Updated
Theresa May's Commons statement on Grenfell Tower fire
Theresa May is about to make a Commons statement on the Grenfell Tower fire.
My colleague Daniel Boffey, the Guardian’s Brussels bureau chief, says a four-year transitional deal would be unacceptable to the European parliament.
Hammond's 4 year transition period a year more than limit the European parliament said was acceptable in resolution https://t.co/8BAWOU2prK
— Daniel Boffey (@DanielBoffey) June 22, 2017
Hammond suggests Brexit transitional deal could last up to four years
One of the criticisms made of Theresa May over Brexit is that she has done little to prepare the public for the compromises it is likely to involve. For example, it has been clear for some time that there is likely to be a transitional period after Brexit during which some of the features of EU membership (payments to the EU budget, European court of justice jurisdiction, free movement) will continue to apply to the UK. Perhaps the Daily Mail will be perfectly happy with that, but one suspects not, and May has done little to argue why it might be desirable.
This morning the issue opened up on the Today programme when Philip Hammond, the chancellor, suggested the transitional period could last as long as four years. John Humphrys, who was interviewing him, did a good job of confronting him with the likely Mail reaction.
When it was put to Hammond that there would have to be a transitional arrangement, and that it could be a long one, Hammond said that he had been arguing for one. And he wanted an early agreement on one, he said. He said the sooner business could get reassurance that there would be a transitional phase, the better.
Companies in Germany who want to supply components to car manufacturers in the UK, if they are going to set up contracts that have three- or four-year terms, need to know the basis on which they will be supplying those concerns in years three or four.
Then the exchange went on.
JH: So we could have a transitional agreement that lasts for three or four years or perhaps even more? And that would be overseen by the European court of justice, wouldn’t it?
PH: Well, all these things remain to be negotiated.
JH: But you are regarding that as a strong possibility? Because the reason behind the question, if that is the case, in what sense are we going to be leaving the European Union in two years’ time? We will have agreements on citizenship, we will have agreements on customs union, we might well have all sorts of trade deals continuing as well under the aegis of the European court of justice. In what way have we left the European Union?
PH: In a very clear sense: we won’t be members of it. We will be out of it.
JH: But we will be continuing to uphold many of the arrangements that we had when we were in it, including the ECJ jurisdiction, which was specifically a point of leaving the European Union.
PH: And we are leaving the European Union. But I think, when you buy a house, you don’t necessarily move all your furniture in on the first day you buy it. This is a process.
I will post more on this soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Theresa May makes a Commons statement about the Grenfell Tower fire.
Around 10.30am: Amber Rudd, the home secretary, makes a Commons statement about the recent terror attacks.
Around 11.30am: Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, takes business questions in the Commons.
11.30am: Peers resume their debate on the Queen’s speech, with foreign affairs, defence, international trade and international development the key issues for debate.
Afternoon: Theresa May and other EU leaders meet in Brussels for an EU summit.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another in the afternoon.
You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time. Alternatively you could post a question to me on Twitter.
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