Fireproof buildings

sir – As somebody who spent 30 years leading various major construction projects, I find it frankly staggering that the London Fire Brigade is calling for an “all new” independent inspection system for new buildings (report, November 13).

Organisations that undertake building control have existed for decades. They are, by law, completely independent of clients, designers and their contractors. They are also independently funded.

Their inspectors already have numerous statutory powers to approve plans and inspect sites. There is also a huge body of well-proven fire safety rules that have prevented towering infernos in Britain for many decades. The one and only outstanding question to answer is why, in the case of Grenfell Tower, such safety rules appear to have failed. Peter Bryson

Addingham, West Yorkshire