Angela Rayner criticises pace of removal of dangerous cladding seven years after Grenfell fire | Political News

The Deputy First Minister said she was unhappy about the time it was taking to remove dangerous cladding from buildings following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the Government “must make sure we speed up the repair work” after the findings of the final phase of the Grenfell Tower inquiry were published on Wednesday.

This report blames ‘systematic dishonesty’ from cladding and insulation companies and a “decade of failure” by government and the construction industry following a fire in west London in June 2017 that claimed the lives of 72 people.

Ms Rayner told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “The failures were systemic, absolutely everyone – whether it was the regulator, whether it was the people who had the materials, whether it was the government, whether it was the council, whether it was the property manager – every layer failed to recognise and protect the people of Grenfell.

“This is absolutely shocking.

“This government needs to make sure we speed up the recovery work.

“I’ve looked into it and I’m not happy with the current pace.”

Ms Rayner said the Government would consider the report’s 58 recommendations and “make sure we do everything we can to deliver on them and even go further to give people confidence”.

She added: “One of the things that really struck me was that greed and regulation were put ahead of safety.

“This is what needs to change.”

Government figures show that work has not yet started on half of the 4,630 residential buildings over 11 metres high that were found to have unsafe cladding following the fire.

Renovation work has been completed on less than one third of the buildings, or 1,350.

The inquiry, led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, found that the previous Conservative government was “well aware” of the deadly risks posed by flammable cladding and insulation in the year before the fire but “failed to act on that knowledge”.

The report also found that civil servants under both Labour and Conservative governments were “complacent, defensive and dismissive” about fire safety for decades.

In the “fire of bureaucracy” they prioritized cutting building regulations, which had tragic consequences.

Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak apologised on Wednesday for the UK government’s actions, with the Prime Minister saying ministers had “failed to take action”.

The Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the disaster, said it would be at least three years before any convictions could be reached.

Victims groups have called for those responsible to be brought to justice, but the Met Police said: “We have one chance to investigate properly.”

Ms Rayner added: “We cannot allow justice delayed because that is justice denied.

“So the police will conduct their investigation as soon as possible. And we need to support that process.”