Government promises to bar Grenfell firms from future public sector work

The prime minister has said that companies named and shamed in the Grenfell Inquiry report will not be handed government work in the future.

Responding to the report’s findings, Keir Starmer told MPs this afternoon: “This government will write to all companies found by the Inquiry to have been part of these horrific failings as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts.”

The move satisfies one of the key demands of survivors’ group Grenfell United who yesterday said firms condemned by today’s report should be barred from public sector work.

Starmer added: “We will also reform the construction products industry that made this fatal cladding so homes are made of safe materials and those who compromise that safety will face the consequences.”

He said the government “we will support the Met Police and the prosecutors as they complete their investigations” but warned: “It is vital that as we respond to this report today, we do not do or say anything that could compromise any future prosecution. Because the greatest injustice of all would be for the victims and all those affected not to get the justice they deserve.”

Starmer also said the government will set out steps in the autumn to speed up remediation work on buildings deemed unsafe.

He said: ”This must be a moment of change. We will take the necessary steps to speed this up. We will be willing to force freeholders to assess their buildings and enter remediation schemes within set timescales, with a legal requirement to force action if that is what it takes.”

Meanwhile, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the government should ensure any company named in the report cannot work with the government or other public bodies in the future.