30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
It is feared the cladding on Grenfell House may have contributed to the speed of the fire’s spread across the surface of the building

Tens of thousands of buildings across the UK are covered in the same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower.

The covering, made from aluminium composite material, is on 87 more tower blocks similar to the west London flats.

They are currently under enforcement orders for failures in their fire safety precautions, the Daily Mirror report.

Up to 30,000 buildings of varying heights are wrapped in the cladding leading to fire experts to express serious concerns over their safety.

Calls are now being made to tear down any building wrapped in the potentially hazardous material.

30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
87 more tower blocks use the same cladding, including Clements Court in Hounslow, west London (Picture: Google street)
30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
Castlemaine Tower, a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the same firm in 2014 (Picture: Google street)

Former fire minister Mike Penning said: ‘We need to expedite this as far as possible. This cladding is used extensively in the UK and abroad. ‘

Architect and fire expert Sam Webb claimed the cladding was to blame for the fire and that people should be sent to prison if it is proven to be the case.

He told the MailOnline: ‘It clearly didn’t meet the London Borough building regulations and if that’s the case then someone needs to go to prison.

‘Before the tenants moved in there should have been a full fire safety check and if that’s not the case then it’s a criminal offence.’

Mr Webb argued that all buildings with cladding wrapped around them should be torn down and said: ‘In the past they would never have been built because they wouldn’t have met the regulations.’

30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
Ferrier Point, a 23-storey block with 115 blocks in Newham, east London, was clad with aluminium in 2015 (Picture: Google)
30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
Flats in Camden, north London, were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of £16 million (Picture: Gavin Rodgers/Pixel 8000)
30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
The remains of Grenfell House after the devastating fire (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Contractors who worked on the £8.6 million Grenfell Tower refurbishment could have spent just £5,000 more to get fire resistant cladding, it was revealed last night.

Hundreds of Reynobond aluminium coated panels – banned in the US over safety fears – were fitted to the outside of the London high-rise last year.

The building was covered in panels with a plastic core costing £22 per square metre – just £2 cheaper than the fire-resistant version.

30 people have been confirmed dead so far, and fire chiefs warn up to 100 could have perished.

Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group Ronnie King said: ‘I’ve seen these cladded buildings in Qatar and Bahrain and the Middle East, but never usually on residential buildings.

30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
The cladding could be seen charred and melted on the outside of the building (Picture: EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA)
30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
Theresa May has promised a full public inquiry into the origins of the fire (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
30,000 buildings in UK covered in same cladding that surrounded Grenfell Tower
Fire experts have suggested a sprinkler system could have prevented the disaster (Picture: Getty)

‘The building should have been contained in the flat for an hour, so it’s absolutely freakish that it spread as quickly as it did.’

Mr King also believes a sprinkler system may have stopped the entire disaster.

New tower blocks over 30m high are required to have sprinkler systems but there are an estimated 4,000 older blocks in the UK without them.

Just one out of eight councils said it had put sprinklers into flats, 18 out of just 2,925.

Rydon insisted their work ‘met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards.’

Harley Facades, the company that fitted the panels to the tower, said: ‘At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding.’

Last year the firm posted on Facebook: ‘Harley completes its work at Grenfell Tower. Well done to the team, great looking job and a happy client.’

Concerns about cladding date back to 1999, when an elderly man died in a blaze in Scotland in a 14-storey apartment block.

Surface fire was said to be one of the factors behind the rapid spread of the Lakanal House blaze in 2009, where 6 people died.

A 2000 inquiry said all cladding systems should be required ‘either to be entirely non-combustible or proven not to pose an unacceptable risk.’

Theresa May yesterday ordered a full public inquiry, after her chief adviser Gavin Barwell came under pressure for delaying a fire regulations review.