Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
100% FIRE TEST FAILURE
Fury mounts nationwide as ALL cladding analysed so far is unsafe
ALL council tower block cladding tested in the wake of the Grenfell disaster has so far failed fire checks.
But just 60 of the 600 feared unsafe have been inspected. Lib Dem Ed Davey said: “It is outrageous so many blocks were allowed to be wrapped in flammable material.”
FURY was growing last night over the botched testing of council blocks deemed possible fire risks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Just 60 out of 600 across the land have so far been checked and they all failed, nearly two weeks after the inferno that killed at least 79 people. Blundering ministers also admitted experts were ordered to test only the cladding used to cover the buildings. That comes despite Det Chief Supt Fiona Mccormack warning preliminary tests showed the insulation to be more flammable than the cladding. There was chaos as residents ordered out of their homes for checks to be carried out insisted they had nowhere to go and were staying put. Others had to sleep at leisure centres and hotels. Labour MP Wes Streeting blasted the slow rate of testing for fire risks. He said: “The early signs point to systemic failures. “The Government knows people living in tower blocks are afraid, and need reassurance. So they need to work a hell of a lot quicker than they are currently.”
OUTRAGEOUS
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Ed Davey called for an “immediate ban” on all combustible material used in housebuilding. He added: “It is outrageous that so many tower blocks have been allowed to be wrapped in flammable material. “How many more cases need to be uncovered before ministers update fire safety rules?” The tests were ordered by the Department for Communities and Local Government last week. Council blocks have found to be unsafe in areas including Doncaster, Norwich, Stocktonon-tees and London. In Pendleton, Salford, work has begun to remove cladding on nine blocks before tests have been finished. Tensions rose in Camden, North London, where 200 residents continued to live in unsafe blocks amid claims they have been intimidated by guards. Councils chiefs have accused them of delaying the tests at the Chalcots Estate. But one tenant, Karen English, 54, said: “We are not refusing to leave there’s just nowhere for us to go.” And Mandy Ryan claimed she was left terrified by a security guard. She said: “I was bullied as I left the building. He said, ‘We need to know who you are.’ I was so scared, he got close to me.”