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Cladding tests introduced after Grenfell Tower blaze are 'almost certain to fail', experts warn

File photo dated 17/06/17 of Grenfell Tower in west London. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry's first report will not be published until October, months after survivors expected its release.
Hospitals, nursing homes and tower blocks could be at risk because of their cladding, an investigation has revealed (Picture: PA)

As many as 1,700 buildings in England are likely to fail a new round of tests of their cladding and building materials, an investigation has revealed.

BBC 5 Live reported that fire safety experts have warned that hospitals, schools, nursing homes and tower blocks are among buildings that could be at risk.

New tests have been introduced following the blaze at Grenfell Tower in 2017, which left 72 people dead.

A public inquiry heard that the fire spread so quickly because of highly combustible flammable in the cladding it had been covered in.

The government has set up a fund to remove the cladding that was used at Grenfell from other buildings, while new tests have also been introduced to assess other types of materials.

But according to the BBC, experts have warns that some of the tests are ‘almost certain to fail’.

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The broadcaster reported that chartered engineer Dr Jonathan Evans, who was part of the team testing cladding for the government after Grenfell, has called for transparency around the results of the tests when they are released.

Following Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review into the Grenfell Tower blaze, new fire safety regulations have been introduced banning combustible materials from the external walls of new buildings over 59 feet tall but senior figures have called for them to apply to all new buildings regardless of height.