Deputy PM criticises pace of taking down unsafe cladding seven years after Grenfell fire

The deputy prime minister has said she is unhappy with how long it is taking to remove unsafe cladding from buildings following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Angela Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, said the government "has got to make sure that we accelerate remediation" after the final phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was published on Wednesday.

The report blamed "systematic dishonesty" from cladding and insulation companies and "decades of failure" in government and the construction industry for the fire that killed 72 people in the west London building in June 2017.

Ms Rayner told Sky News' Breakfast with Kay Burley: "The failures were systemic, absolutely everybody - whether it's the regulator, whether it's those who had the materials, whether it's the government, whether it was the council, the tenant management - every single layer failed to recognise and to protect those residents at Grenfell.

"It is absolutely shocking to see that.

"This government has got to make sure that we accelerate remediation.

"I've looked at it, and I'm not happy with the pace of it at the moment."

Ms Rayner said the government will consider the 58 recommendations made in the report, and "make sure that we do everything that we can to meet those, and go beyond so that people are confident".

She added: "One of the things that was really striking to me was that greed and regulation had been put before safety.

"That's what needs to change."

Government figures show work is yet to start on half the 4,630 residential buildings over 11 metres in height identified as having unsafe cladding following the fire.

Remediation works have been completed on less than a third - 1,350 buildings.

The inquiry, led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, found the former Conservative government was "well aware" of the deadly risks posed by combustible cladding and insulation a year before the fire, but "failed to act on what it knew".

It also found government officials under both the former Labour and Conservative administrations were "complacent, defensive and dismissive" about fire safety for decades.

They prioritised cutting building regulations in a "bonfire of red tape", with deadly consequences, it said.

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Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak apologised for the actions of the British government on Wednesday, with the prime minister saying ministers "failed to act".

The Met Police, which has been investigating the disaster, has said it will be at least three years before any convictions can take place.

Victims' groups have called on those to blame to be brought to justice, but the Met Police said: "We have one chance to get our investigation right."

Ms Rayner added: "We can't have a situation where justice is delayed because that's justice denied.

"So as quickly as possible, the police will carry out their investigations. And we've got to support that process."