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Labour calls for immediate fire safety review of tower blocks
Labour is calling for a fire safety review of tower blocks and a special session in the Commons to discuss yesterday’s fire at Grenfell Tower
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, shadow housing minister John Healey criticised the government for ignoring coroners’ recommendations regarding fire safety in tower blocks.
He said: “What it really needs now is for a very senior cabinet minister to show they are getting a grip of this and reassuring tenants in other tower blocks that they will get to the bottom of the problems. They should commission an independent immediate review so that the clear lessons must now be taken seriously.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn blamed government cuts to local authority budgets for the lack of safety facilities.
Prime minister Theresa May last night expressed her sympathies with everyone affected by the fire, and promised: “In due course, when the scene is secure and when it’s possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be a proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken.”
But Mr Healey criticised former housing minister Brandon Lewis’ rejection of a recommendation to encourage the wider use of sprinklers in tower blocks.
Mr Lewis told MPs in 2014: “We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.”
In March this year, experts warned that the government’s delay in reviewing fire safety regulations was putting tower blocks at risk.
Update: at 10.38am, 15.06.17 The Liberal Democrats have joined the call for an “urgent” government review into the fire.
Sal Brinton, Liberal Democrat party president and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group, said: “Ministers have been asked repeatedly to upgrade fire safety regulations but have done nothing, including on sprinklers and strengthening compliance rules.
“The government must conduct an urgent review into fire safety and building regulations, with recommendations implemented as soon as possible. We must also hold a public inquiry into what caused this tragic fire and how it could have been prevented.”
