BREAKING NEWS: Now 181 tower blocks in 51 areas have failed cladding tests after Grenfell Tower blaze
- Block around the country have been tested after the Grenfell Tower fire
- Now 181 tower blocks in 51 areas have failed tests, the Government has said
- So far 100 per cent of buildings have not passed amid a national safety operation to identify buildings with cladding similar to that in the North Kensington blaze
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The Government has revealed that 181 tower blocks in 51 local authority areas have failed fire cladding safety tests.
The Department for Communities and Local Government's revealed that so far 100 per cent of buildings have not passed amid a national safety operation to identify buildings with cladding like that used on the Grenfell tower block in north Kensington.
Councils named include Portsmouth and Brent along with Camden, Manchester, Plymouth and Hounslow as local authorities with buildings that failed tests.
The updated figures suggest Salford has the highest number of these towers with 29 found so far with the at-risk aluminium composite material.
Last month thousands of people had to leave their homes in four tower blocks in Camden, after the fire brigade said they could not guarantee the safety of those living there.
Council leader Georgia Gould said they were left with little choice when the fire service completed testing and advised there was nothing to be done to ensure the safety of the residents.
Prime Minister Theresa May said at the time the Government was making sure Camden Council can do 'what is necessary' to ensure people evacuated from blocks of flats have somewhere to stay, and work is done to make the buildings safe.
The blocks were evacuated at around 8.30pm on a Friday night, with residents staying on inflatable mattresses in the Swiss Cottage leisure centre overnight.
People were told to leave as darkness began to fall, with some taking belongings in suitcases and carrier bags, and some locals saying they only learned of the evacuation as they watched the news.
Families with newborn babies and a Second World War veteran were among those ordered out of their homes after fire officers said they could not guarantee the safety of the buildings.
Thousands of residents are living in blocks in London, Manchester, Plymouth and Portsmouth encased in panels blamed for the devastating blaze that claimed the lives of dozens of people at Grenfell Tower.
Theresa May has said they will not be forced to stay in 'unsafe homes' but with councils facing what could be one of Britain's biggest peacetime evacuations they have so far told residents they will not be rehoused.
The increasing safety concerns for all high-rise British buildings have majorly heightened since the devastating blaze at Grenfell, whose cladding and insulation failed all safety tests, police said today.
Scotland Yard confirmed it had launched a manslaughter inquiry, which will see Kensington and Council Council and the contractors who refurbished the block for £8.6million last year.
Today it was announced that the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire will aim to establish what issues are examined within a matter of weeks.
A consultation period with victims and other parties about the scope of the probe is under way and is expected to wrap up by the parliamentary recess.
This gives survivors concerned the process will be too 'narrow' until July 20 to make their case to Sir Martin Moore-Bick that its parameters should widen.
Discontent has been brewing after the judge leading the inquiry suggested it will largely focus on the cause of the fire and how it could be prevented in future.
Campaigners warned a boycott could be afoot unless the systemic issues underlying the blaze, in which at least 80 people have died, becomes a central plank of concern.
An inquiry spokesman said: 'The aim is to have (the terms of reference) done before Parliament rises on the 20th.'
Sir Martin met with survivors and those displaced from homes nearby on his first day in the role and will hold further meetings with other groups in the next week.
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