60 high-rises fail fire safety tests

The number of high-rise buildings which have failed a combustibility test is now 60 across 25 local authority areas.

Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, released a statement which detailed the work being done to ensure the safety of residents in high-rise buildings following he Grenfell Tower fire.

The number of high-rise buildings with cladding which has failed a combustibility test at the Building Research Establishment is now 60. All landlords have been alerted to the results.

Camden Council evacuated 650 people from four tower blocks in the Swiss Cottage area, after London Fire Brigade raised concerns about cladding, gas pipe insulation and fire doors. More than 100 Camden flats are still occupied, however, even though the council is requesting residents to evacuate their homes, saying it could no longer guarantee residents’ safety. Residents have said poor communication is the reason why they have not yet left.

Buildings have also been declared unsafe in Doncaster, Norwich, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Manchester, Plymouth and Portsmouth.

Speaking at Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, Labour’s John McDonnell claimed the victims were ‘murdered’ by ‘political decisions’.

He said: “Is democracy working? It didn't work if you were a family living on the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower. Those families, those individuals - 79 so far and there will be more - were murdered by political decisions that were taken over recent decades.

"The decision not to build homes and to view housing as only for financial speculation rather than for meeting a basic human need made by politicians over decades murdered those families. The decision to close fire stations and to cut 10,000 fire fighters and then to freeze their pay for over a decade contributed to those deaths inevitably, and they were political decisions.”

The Grenfell Tower fire began in the early hours on 14 June in which at least 79 people have died.

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA) has since said: "Councils have worked quickly to check cladding on tower blocks where they are the landlord and send samples for independent testing. Ensuring buildings are safe, acting quickly on any expert fire safety advice and offering reassurance to residents remains their highest priority.

“The LGA has contacted all of the local authorities which government officials were still expecting samples from. Of the overwhelming majority we have been able to speak to so far today, they have either already sent a sample for testing or informed government officials that they do not own any high-rise buildings with ACM cladding in their area.

“It seems that samples expected by government officials from councils are, in many cases, due to actually arrive from other housing providers. As community leaders, councils are working with social and other landlords in their area to make sure all cladding samples are sent for testing as quickly as possible.

“Our advice to any council, social and other landlord waiting for cladding test results remains that they should be preparing contingency plans so they can implement mitigating measures quickly. We also continue to press the Government to ensure councils have the funding they need to support residents and carry out any new safety measures."