LONDON: Some 149 high-rise buildings have failed safety tests introduced after a deadly tower block fire in west London, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday while criticising a decision to hold a council meeting on the disaster in private.
“So far the cladding from 149 high rise buildings in 45 local authority areas have failed the tests. That continues to be a 100 percent test failure rate,” the spokeswoman told reporters.
Responding to reports that the public and media were not allowed into a council meeting on the devastating fire in Grenfell Tower, west London, which killed at least 80 people, she said: “Our view is that access to democracy should always be easy.
“There are rules that state that all meetings must be open to the public except in certain circumstances … and we would have expected the council to respect that.”
WATCH: 19 buildings in China blown up in just 10 seconds
On June 24, Britain said 27 high-rise apartment blocks had failed fire safety checks carried out after the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze, including several in north London where residents were forced to evacuate amid chaotic scenes.
The Department for Communities said 27 apartment blocks had failed tests, from London in the southeast to Manchester in the north and Plymouth on the southwest coast.
