Keir Starmer admits his government must ‘step up and get on with it’ cladding review after devastating Grenfell fire report

Sir Keir Starmer said his Government must “speed up” a review of buildings with potentially unsafe cladding following the publication this week of a report into the Grenfell fire.

The Prime Minister said he was frustrated by the slow progress of work to replace dangerous cladding on facades, after latest figures showed only one in four high-rise blocks had been completed by the end of May.

The decision comes after the publication this week of the commission of inquiry’s final report, which found that all 72 deaths in the June 2017 tragedy could have been avoided.

Asked by the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme how he would speed up the safety programme, Sir Keir replied: “We will speed up the programme, I am disappointed that the cladding work is going so slowly.

“A lot of it is about finding real accountability and holding people accountable for doing their jobs. The money is there, the intention is there. We need to move faster.”

Pressed on a date for when people would feel safe in their homes, Sir Keir said he could not give one, telling the programme: “We are accelerating the process, I want to do it as quickly as possible. Each block will have a different timetable.

“I can’t tell you an end date, but I can tell you that I meant what I said in response to the report. I said that this has to be a turning point.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said his government must “step up and get down to work” on a review of flammable cladding in the wake of the Grenfell inquiry report.

Sir Keir went on to say: “A lot of this now is about identifying and motivating those who are really responsible for doing this, to do the job that they are required to do. If we need more powers to do that, we will delegate those powers.”

The report, published earlier this week, found that Grenfell had become a death trap that claimed 72 lives due to “serious failings” in building standards, “rogue” manufacturers and local authorities’ “indifference” to fire safety.

Successive governments and companies involved in the renovation of the skyscraper in 2015–2016 were also criticized.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the report’s author, said: “None of those involved in the design of the external wall or the selection of materials acted to the standards of a reasonably competent person.”

He said the poor choice of flammable materials for the cladding of Grenfell Tower was the result of “a series of errors caused by the incompetence of the organisation and individuals involved in the refurbishment”.

However, he also accused the industry body British Board of Assessment (BBA) of incompetence by failing to carry out adequate checks on building materials used in the renovation before issuing certificates of compliance.

Sir Martin accused successive governments of being “complacent and defensive” on security, and said the response to the tragedy by Theresa May’s administration and the local Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council had been “chaotic, slow, hesitant and piecemeal”.

Sir Martin said both the council, which owns the tower, and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which runs it, had shown a “persistent indifference to fire safety”, particularly in relation to the many vulnerable residents.

However, his sharpest criticism was directed at those responsible for the companies involved in the renovation.

The 77-year-old former Court of Appeal judge also criticised “rogue” manufacturers as well as local and central government, the construction industry and related organisations.

Sir Martin said the “simple truth” was that all 72 deaths “could have been avoided”.

Fire survivors and grieving friends and family members faced another blow in their fight for justice this week after the CPS said it would not be able to prosecute anyone until the end of 2026.

They have been demanding criminal charges for years since the 2017 fire and have repeated their calls for justice following the report’s release.

Former housing minister Michael Gove also said criminal proceedings should be brought against the companies responsible for cladding Grenfell Tower.

He suggested that companies that “continue to make huge profits without taking full responsibility” must also face financial penalties.

In an article in the Sunday Times, Mr Gove said attempts to punish Kingspan, Arconic and Celotex while he was in power were blocked by “red tape”.

He added that foreign governments were “not taking sufficient action” against responsible companies based abroad, and attempts to restrict imports of their products were met with opposition from “the commercial purism of the Treasury Mandarin Brain”.

A final report found that the west London tower block was covered in flammable products due to “systematic dishonesty” by companies manufacturing and selling cladding and insulation.

Kingspan has, since 2005 and even after the fire investigation began, “knowingly created a false market in insulation” for use in buildings over 18 metres (59 feet) high, the statement said.

Then, in an attempt to enter the market created by Kingspan, Celotex “embarked on a pattern of fraudulent activity designed to mislead its customers and the wider market”, said the inquiry’s chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick.

Mr Gove apologised to relatives and survivors of the tragedy “who have been let down by successive governments, including those I was part of”.

He added that the companies producing the materials used in the tower “have still not demonstrated adequate awareness of their guilt, remorse for the crimes committed and compensation for the harm caused.”

“Because Kingspan is based in Ireland and Arconic and Celotex’s European operations are in France, our jurisdiction was limited. But we were determined to pursue them,” Mr Gove said.

A former Conservative Party leadership candidate has put pressure on Ulster Rugby and the Mercedes Formula One team, asking them to reconsider their partnership with Irish insulation company Kingspan in 2021.

Last year he warned shareholders of wall cladding firms that the companies would face “serious consequences” if they did not receive a financial support package following the Grenfell tragedy.

Mr Gove said taking the “necessary action” against cladding companies “will require determination… I know there will be voices that oppose decisive action”.

“You can’t buy prosperity at the price of justice. Those who are most guilty must pay, and pay the most,” he added.