News – Page 3
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NewsPickles complains about being questioned at Grenfell Inquiry as he had ‘busy day’ planned
Former housing minister told QC this morning to ‘use your time wisely’ as he had a ’number of international guests coming in to see me’
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NewsFire safety review before Grenfell not delayed by deregulation, Eric Pickles tells inquiry
Former housing secretary calls claims made by officials they were hampered by red tape cuts “ludicrous”
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NewsGovernment had ‘completely false picture’ of fire safety before Grenfell fire, former housing minister admits
Gavin Barwell says there was a “clear presumption” that review of building regulations was not life critical
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NewsFormer minister in charge of building regulations had never heard of flawed fire rating
Stephen Williams says he only learned of banned Class 0 rating at yesterday’s hearing of Grenfell Inquiry
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NewsFormer minister denies deregulation was prioritised over life safety before Grenfell fire
James Wharton tells inquiry he thought regulations had been “fit for purpose and working well”
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NewsFormer housing minister denies ‘aversion’ to regulation on fire safety
Brandon Lewis is the first government minister to provide evidence to the Grenfell Inquiry
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NewsFatal 2009 cladding fire not ‘severe’ enough to prompt investigation into similar buildings, Grenfell inquiry hears
Brian Martin also admits being ‘horrified’ by senior building control officer’s misunderstanding of fire safety guidance
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NewsSenior civil servant admits missing opportunities to address risks of ACM cladding
Brian Martin tells Grenfell Inquiry he ‘struggles to understand’ why he did not take action
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NewsCivil servant knew there was a ‘clear risk’ of a major ACM fire three years before Grenfell, inquiry hears
Brian Martin failed to warn fire and rescue chief and instead ‘lulled’ him into false sense of security
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NewsSenior civil servant ‘forgot’ to clarify ambiguous fire safety guidance, Grenfell Inquiry hears
Brian Martin also admitted he ‘completely underestimated’ hazard posed by deadly ACM panels
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NewsPeople expected to ‘work out for themselves’ what fire regs meant, Grenfell Inquiry hears
Former civil servant in charge of the rules admits it was “evident” the approach had not worked
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NewsDisastrous test failure on ACM cladding was ‘forgotten’, Grenfell inquiry hears
Senior civil servant responsible for building fire safety says 2001 tests “just got missed”
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NewsSenior official had not questioned ‘inappropriate’ fire ratings for cladding before Grenfell tragedy, inquiry hears
’Class 0’ rating was used for external walls until 2018 despite being based on how fire behaves indoors
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NewsGovernment officials ‘did not heed’ coroner advice after fatal Lakanal House fire
The former head of the communities and local government department tells Grenfell Tower inquiry that officials were “dismissive” of recommendations made after another fatal tower block fire in 2009.
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NewsOfficials ‘didn’t understand the risk’ of fire safety decisions, Grenfell inquiry hears
Officials ’lost sight’ of important issues during deregulation drive, fire safety policy lead admits
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NewsGovernment official ‘parroted’ industry protests on accreditation scheme for fire risk assessors
Grenfell Inquiry hears that official did “nothing” to scrutinise claims by businesses that scheme would be too costly
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NewsGovernment guidance for fire risk assessors ‘beyond a joke’, Grenfell Inquiry hears
Hearing told that there had been a “background of complacency” on fire safety in the government in years before 2017 blaze
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NewsFormer senior civil servant’s ‘deep regret’ building regs were not revised following cladding warnings
Grenfell Inquiry told that fears over widespread use of ACM panels ‘should have been gripped better’
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NewsLead fire safety official described ACM panels as going ‘whoosh!’ when ignited, Grenfell Inquiry hears
Email sent by Brian Martin 18 months before Grenfell fire
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NewsGovernment ‘squeezed’ resources of building safety review after cladding fire, Grenfell Inquiry hears
Team working on changes to fire safety rules were working on a ‘less than bare bones’ capacity, senior official says