Grenfell cladding finally banned FREE 16-page racing pullout inside your EVERY SATURDAY

Move comes 5 years after blaze horror

THE type of cladding that allowed the Grenfell Tower fire to spread so quickly has finally been banned.

Officials have confirmed, five years after the horror blaze that claimed 72 lives, metal composite panels with an unmodified polyethylene core cannot be used on any building.

Data demonstrating the danger of this cladding was first received in 2002.

But previous restrictions applied only to buildings higher than 11m (36ft).

There are also new restrictions on other combustible materials but some will be permitted on buildings under 18m (59ft), subject to a fire tests.

All new residential buildings higher than 11m will have to provide a secure information box, which will give fire and rescue services access to building details in case of fire.

There must additionally be an evacuation alert system, which is an alarm that can trigger an evacuation if a fire is out of control.

The changes, announced on Wednesday, extend the scope of the ban on combustible materials above 18m to include hotels and boarding schools, which were previously excluded.

Hospitals are already covered. Lord

Greenhalgh, building and fire safety minister, said: “We have introduced the biggest improvements to building safety in a generation, under the Building Safety Act.

“These changes will support our tough new regulatory regime, ensuring fire safety measures are incorporated into new high-rise homes and all new residential buildings meet the same safety standards.

“It does not end here and I urge the industry to act quickly to update their practices in line with these new rules.”

The move comes after former minister for Grenfell victims Nick Hurd slammed the Government’s response to the fire. He was appointed to oversee policing and the fire service two days before the disaster in West London on June 14, 2017.

The former Tory MP was then made minister for Grenfell victims on June 26, to guide the Government’s support for survivors and residents. But Mr Hurd told the inquiry into the inferno at the 24-storey building: “I’m ashamed of the failure of the system to provide citizens with the most basic support and comfort.”

aletha.adu@mirror.co.uk

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I’m ashamed of the failure of the system to provide basic support to citizens NICK HURD, BELOW, ON GOVT RESPONSE TO FIRE

Political Correspondent TRAGIC TOWER The Grenfell Tower remains covered in West London