3000 high-rise residents evacuated

MORE than 3000 residents of a London high-rise estate face weeks in temporary accommodation due to concerns over combustible external cladding, insulation, gas pipes and fire doors.

But Camden Council’s decision to evacuate four tower blocks on the Chalcot Estate was yesterday at the centre of a furious row, after 83 households refused to leave.

Iola McCarogher, 27, said: “Until someone puts a court order in my face, I am not leaving.”

Roger Evans, 51, only found out his building was being evacuated after a friend saw it on the news.

He said: “As far as I am concerned, nothing in that building has changed in the last few days, weeks, months or years.

“It was perfectly safe before, despite what they are saying no0. I believe I’m safe there.”

The row came as the Scottish Government announced no local authority or housing association high-rise flats in Scotland have the cladding used in Grenfell Tower.

Ministers also revealed 24 of 32 local authorities reported no privately-owned highrises used aluminium composite material.

The remaining councils are said to be investigating “as a matter of urgency”.

Twenty-seven highrise buildings in 15 English local authorities have failed fire cladding safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell disaster, the Department for Communities & Local Government announced.