May 'concerned' towers fail safety tests

Sixty high-rise buildings have failed safety tests carried out after a fire killed at least 79 people in London earlier this month.

Police officers outside the Dorney tower on the Chalcots Estate

60 high-rise building have failed safety tests carried out after a fatal fire in a London block. (AAP)

It is "concerning" that all the tower blocks tested for combustible building materials after a devastating fire in west London have failed, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May says.

Sixty high-rise buildings have failed tests to gauge whether their cladding materials are combustible, and there have been complaints in the media that checks have moved too slowly.

The tests come amid widening worries about the safety of high-rise apartment blocks across the UK following the inferno that engulfed Grenfell Tower on June 14, killing at least 79 people.

"Clearly it's concerning, concerning for residents who are living in these blocks," the spokesman told reporters at a regular government briefing on Monday.

"That's why we have put in place a system where testing can be carried out very quickly and whereby local authorities are informed immediately when a positive test comes back and that appropriate measures are put in place," he said.

Landlords should get potentially flammable building materials tested as soon as possible, he added.

"The job for the public inquiry will be to find out how and why this happened. I would expect that to be part of the terms of reference."

The spokesman was unable to confirm a date for the announcement of a judge to head the Grenfell inquiry and the publication of the terms of reference.

"We are making good progress in the appointment of a judge, in co-operation with the Lord Chief Justice, and we hope to be able to make an announcement as soon as possible," he said.

The spokesman said the authorities had the capacity to test 100 samples of cladding material a day and were nowhere near reaching that number.


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Source: AAP



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