29 January 2023 , 14:56
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Michael Gove has apologised to the families affected by the Grenfell tragedy after admitting the government was partly to blame.
The fire at the residential tower block in North Kensington, west London, in June 2017 killed 72 people and triggered a public inquiry.
Speaking almost six years on, the Housing Secretary told the Sunday Times the system of regulation at the time was "faulty".
"The Government did not think hard enough, or police effectively enough, the whole system of building safety," he said. "Undoubtedly.
"I believe that (the guidance) was so faulty and ambiguous that it allowed unscrupulous people to exploit a broken system in a way that led to tragedy."
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Speaking to Sky News's Sophy Ridge programme, the Cabinet minister added: "Government - collectively - has to take some responsibility".
72 people were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)Mr Gove will on Monday give a six-week deadline for developers to sign a Government contract to fix their unsafe towers - or be banned from the market.
It will reportedly cover 1,500 tower blocks with a height of over 11metres.
The Cabinet minister is expected to use the so-called "responsible actor scheme", to be established in the spring, to block such companies who refuse to sign up.
Ahead of the announcement, Mr Gove told Sky News yesterday: "I think that if you look at what happened to Grenfell, there were lots of factors but yes, the Government collectively has to take some responsibility… It is undeniably the case that the system of building regulation was not right," he told the programme.
Asked if he would apologise, Mr Gove said he "absolutely would".
He added: "I remember visiting the site just a couple of days after the fire and thinking that it was horrific that this had happened. The more that I discovered about the circumstances the more horrified I was.
"There were people in that building who had warned beforehand that they were in potential danger. The warnings were not heeded. I'm the first, I hope, to acknowledge that we haven't done right by the bereaved and the residents and survivors from Grenfell and that is one very, very important mission.”
Speaking on Sunday Labour's Shadow Housing Secretary Lisa Nandy said her party would support "any genuine action to fix unsafe properties".
She added: "The principal of a responsible actor scheme that commits the industry to fixing unsafe properties is the right one.
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“However, the Secretary of State has claimed he’s being tough on this before. It has been one year since he last made this demand on developers.
"Five years after the Grenfell tragedy only seven per cent of flats at fire risk have been fixed, and millions are still left with unsellable properties and eye watering bills."
A public inquiry into the tragedy, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is yet to deliver its final report.