The deputy prime minister has said she is unhappy with how long it is taking to remove unsafe cladding from buildings following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Angela Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, said the government “has got to make sure that we accelerate remediation” after the final phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was published on Wednesday.
The report blamed “systematic dishonesty” from cladding and insulation companies and “decades of failure” in government and the construction industry for the fire that killed 72 people in the west London building in June 2017.
Image:
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner
Ms Rayner told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “The failures were systemic, absolutely everybody – whether it’s the regulator, whether it’s those who had the materials, whether it’s the government, whether it was the council, the tenant management – every single layer failed to recognise and to protect those residents at Grenfell.
“It is absolutely shocking to see that.
“This government has got to make sure that we accelerate remediation.
“I’ve looked at it, and I’m not happy with the pace of it at the moment.”
Ms Rayner said the government will consider the 58 recommendations made in the report, and “make sure that we do everything that we can to meet those, and go beyond so that people are confident”.
She added: “One of the things that was really striking to me was that greed and regulation had been put before safety.
“That’s what needs to change.”
Government figures show work is yet to start on half the 4,630 residential buildings over 11 metres in height identified as having unsafe cladding following the fire.
Remediation works have been completed on less than a third – 1,350 buildings.
