Government had ‘false picture’ of fire safety at time of Grenfell, says former housing minister

The government had a “completely false picture of the level of fire safety” in England at the time of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the former housing minister has told the public inquiry into the tragedy.

Lord Barwell said when he had taken over as minister he’d been given responsibility for housing and planning as well as building regulations.

And while he insisted that had not created a conflict, he admitted he had not given the regulations issue enough attention during his first few months in office.