ACM cladding fears over hundreds of buildings declared as safe

The type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower is likely to have to be removed from hundreds of buildings in order to make people safe, a housing expert has said.

Hotels, private sector blocks, hospitals and student accommodation are among the other buildings covered by potentially dangerous cladding, said National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr.

Aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding has been widely blamed for the speed with which Grenfell Tower became consumed by fire.

Mr Orr called on the Government to end its ongoing tests on cladding fitted to social housing blocks, claiming the money it is costing could be better spent on making buildings safer.

He said: "These tests were the right thing to do, but the results are now conclusive: ACM cladding simply does not pass these tests and is deemed unsafe.

"Across the country, valuable resources - from specialist equipment to expert time - are being poured into a testing process of which the results are already known.

"It is highly likely that (in order to make people safe) this means removing the cladding from hundreds of buildings we were assured were safe - including hotels, private sector blocks, hospitals and student accommodation.

"This process has powerfully demonstrated a systemic failure in construction, manufacturing and the way that regulation has been applied.

"Putting this right will require a strategic look at the issue of fire safety in buildings as a whole, as well as clear prioritisation and funding from government - the costs should not fall on the residents of these properties."

On Tuesday, it emerged that Edinburgh's Napier University had admitted its student accommodation blocks have got to have cladding removed because it is of the potentially dangerous type.

Sky News discovered that the Government was told last year by its own fire investigators that an increasing number of tower blocks were covered in flammable material - but were also told building regulations were "adequate".

So far, tests have shown that 120 tower blocks across 37 local authority areas have flammable cladding on their exterior. So far 100% of samples tested have proved to be combustible.

Theresa May has called for a "major national investigation" into the use of potentially flammable cladding.

Police believe at least 80 people died in Grenfell Tower including the latest to be named - a six-month-old baby who was found dead in her mother's arms.

Leena Belkadi's body was found with her mother Farah Hamdan in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floor of the 24-storey tower block, Westminster Coroners Court heard.

On Wednesday evening, it emerged that retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick has been appointed to lead the public inquiry into the disaster.