Camden LBC evacuates residents as councils fail cladding tests while Kensington & Chelsea RLBC chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, resigns following criticism over the local authority’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire.
Mr Holgate suggested his resignation came at the request of communities secretary, Sajid Javid.
Chairman of the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE), Tracey Lee, said: 'This raises worrying points of principle.
'We [ALACE] are critical of inappropriate interference in local government in relation to the employment of chief executives and senior officers.'
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokeswoman insisted the appointment of chief executive was 'entirely the responsibility of the local authority' but fell short of denying involvement.
The council chief said the communities secretary had ‘required the leader of the council to seek my resignation'.
Mr Holgate said: ‘Despite my wish to have continued, in very challenging circumstances, to lead on the executive responsibilities of the council, I have decided that it is better to step down from my role, once an appropriate successor has been appointed.
‘There is a huge amount still to do for the victims of the fire, requiring the full attention of this council and many others. If I stayed in post, my presence would be a distraction.’
He added: ‘Whilst the public inquiry and other investigations will get to the truth of the causes of this tragedy and the management of its aftermath, I strongly believe that councillors and officers have always endeavoured to have the interests of our residents at heart and will continue to do so.
‘Serving the families so desperately affected by the heartbreaking tragedy at Grenfell Tower remains the highest priority of the council.'
The borough has faced widespread criticism of the way the it handled the crisis, which has killed at least 79 people – a figure that is expected to rise.
Questions remain as to whether the council could have done more to prevent the fire amid claims it ignored warnings about the safety of the building.
Council leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, who has remained in post after winning the backing of his colleagues in the days after the fire, said: ‘The council has been grief stricken by the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire and has sought to provide the greatest level of support we can to victims.
‘That is a huge challenge and Nicholas has led from the front in seeking to do this.
‘It is with great regret that I have today accepted Nicholas Holgate’s resignation.'
In a blog post, Cllr Paget-Brown added: 'Although individual council officers have worked so hard and delivered so much, it is clear that there has been a failing in our collective response.
'We could have done a better job at co-ordinating what happened on the ground and we weren’t able to re-home people as fast as we would have liked.
'We are truly sorry for that.
'This is a tragedy of enormous proportions and it has overwhelmed our normal capacity.'
Prime minister Theresa May said that support on the ground in the initial hours after the fire was 'not good enough' and said an independent, judge-led public inquiry would look at the actions of the local authority.
She said: 'What became clear very quickly was that Kensington & Chelsea RLBC could not cope and it is right that the chief executive officer has now resigned.
'I pay tribute to the London boroughs for their fantastic response, including a number of chief executives who are currently working at the command centre, as well as the Mayor of London and leading figures from a number of councils outside London.'
Lewisham LBC chief executive, Barry Quirk, is providing interim leadership support to Kensington & Chelsea RLBC.
Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, said: 'London local government is working together to support the people affected by the horrific consequences of the Grenfell Tower fire.
'This will be a temporary arrangement while a replacement chief officer for Kensington & Chelsea is identified and appointed.
'We have well-established processes for internal leadership cover here in Lewisham and expect Barry’s new responsibilities to last for a very short period.'
Ms May has revealed that tests on tower blocks following the Grenfell tragedy have shown cladding on some blocks is 'combustible'.
She added the local authorities and fire services concerned were taking 'all possible steps' to ensure buildings are safe and residents have been informed.
Ms May also said the tragedy would not be used to carry out immigration checks on those affected or on those providing 'vital' information to identify victims or help the criminal investigation.
Making a statement in the House of Commons, she said 'no stone will be left unturned' in the inquiry.
She added: 'For any guilty parties there will be nowhere to hide.'
Ms May said she expected an interim report to be produced as 'early as possible' by the chair of the inquiry.
Local authority and housing association chief executives responsible for blocks where serious fire risks have been identified have been asked to consider moving all residents 'until satisfactory remedial work has been done'.
Camden, Barnet, and Hounslow LBCs, and Manchester, Salford, Plymouth and Portsmouth city councils are among the local authorities where cladding samples have failed tests.
The number of high rise buildings that have failed a combustibility test is now 75 across 26 local authority areas.
In Camden, it was decided to evacuate four towers based on fire inspectors’ concerns about a 'combination of other fire hazards together with the cladding'.
Ms May has emphasised the need for local authorities to speed up the process of sending samples to be tested.
But a spokesman for the Local Government Association insisted councils had 'worked quickly' to check cladding on tower blocks where they are the landlord and send samples for independent testing.
He continued: 'It seems that samples expected by government officials from councils are, in many cases, due to actually arrive from other housing providers.
'We have a team of staff working closely with councils and the Department for Communities and Local Government around-the-clock to help local authorities as they continue to support communities affected during this difficult time.
'We also continue to press the Government to ensure councils have the funding they need to support residents and carry out any new safety measures.'
He has called for the Government to provide 'emergency funds' for councils to check cladding and install sprinklers in tower blocks around the country.
Mr Corbyn said: 'The Government should also have committed itself to passing a public safety bill to implement the recommendations of the 2013 inquiry into the fire at Lakanal House and to reversing their guidance that removed the requirement to install sprinklers in new school buildings.
'They could still do so and they would have our support.
'My suspicion is that many local authorities - strapped for cash after seven years of cuts - have cut back on fire testing and cut back on inspections because they simply have not got the staff to do it anymore.'
Work is currently taking place to assess the housing needs of all Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk families to identify longer-term accommodation in the borough or nearby, with no one forced to move out of London.
Every household whose home has been destroyed as a result of the fire will receive a guaranteed £5,500 initial emergency payment from the £5m discretionary fund.
For editor Heather Jameson's view on the Grenfell tragedy click here
