Renovators at blaze tower ‘were asked to cut costs’

Contractors working on the renovation of London’s Grenfell Tower were asked by the building’s managers to reduce costs, with cheaper exterior cladding suggested as one alternative, The Times reported yesterday.At least 80 people were killed in the blaze that consumed the tower this month, with the cladding blamed for spreading the fire throughout the 24-floor block.An “urgent nudge e-mail” sent to contractor Artelia UK from the Kensington and Chelsea tenant management organisation (KCTMO), which runs the tower block on behalf of the local council, said that “we need good costs” for council deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen.One suggestion was the use of aluminium panels instead of zinc, which is more fire-resistant, leading to a “saving of £293,368”.Retired judge Martin Moore-Bick was on Thursday appointed to lead a public inquiry into the fire, which engulfed Grenfell Tower on June 14.Residents have expressed anger at the authorities’ handling of the fire, leading protesters on June 16 to storm the town hall which manages the social housing block, though there is no suggestion that fire safety concerns were ignored.Victims identified so far include a six-month-old baby, her eight-year-old sister and their parents, who lived on the 20th floor.The baby was found in her dead mother’s arms.As part of an emergency fund, the government announced this month that each household whose home was destroyed would receive at least £5,500. Checks are under way at hundreds of high-rises in Britain fitted with the same cladding which encased Grenfell Tower.Meanwhile Downing Street yesterday dramatically piled pressure on Kensington leader Nicholas Paget-Brown to quit over the Grenfell Tower scandal. The embattled council boss was also urged to resign by one of his own senior councillors. Paget-Brown’s position looked increasingly vulnerable after he halted a meeting of the town hall’s cabinet on Thursday because reporters had been allowed in by a High Court ruling.No 10 yesterday publicly cut him adrift over the decision.The prime minister’s official spokeswoman said: “In this specific case, the High Court ruled that the meeting should be open, and we would have expected the council to respect that.”She sidestepped questions over whether Theresa May had confidence in the town hall leader.Councillor Daniel Moylan, a former deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea council and a former senior adviser to Boris Johnson, also went public to call for both Paget-Brown and his deputy Rock Feilding-Mellen to resign.He told the Evening Standard: “We now know that the council is going to be taking back control of the aid and support effort. We have to ask whether the council can credibly provide that to the victims of this tragedy under the current leadership given that so many questions have been asked about their response up to now.“It’s time for the council leader and his deputy to step down so that the council can better re-engage with a traumatised community.”