Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, claimed on the Andrew Marr Show on 18 June 2017 that the cladding that was used on Grenfell tower is banned in the UK:
[17 JANUARY 2018. THIS PARAGRAPH REPLACES THE TEXT OF JUNE 2017.
Was he right? If he was referring to the aluminium composite cladding panels, then he was not. Under the official Approved Document guidance, commonly known as the building regulations, the ACM panels used on Grenfell Tower possessed the requisite fire performance certification. This does not mean that they were safe. On the contrary, aluminium composite panels with a polyethylene core are highly combustible and should never be used on high buildings.
END OF NEW PARAGRAPH.]
Continue reading Grenfell Tower: was the cladding legal or not? (part 1)