Government helping council do what is necessary to make tower blocks safe: May

The Prime Minister has said the Government is making sure Camden Council can do "what is necessary" to ensure people evacuated from blocks of flats in north London have somewhere to stay, and work is done to make the buildings safe.

Four blocks of flats housing up to 4,000 people on the Chalcots Estate in Camden were evacuated on Friday night for fire safety work to be carried out.

Speaking while attending Armed Forces Day in Liverpool, Theresa May said: "For those Camden blocks, it wasn't just a question of the cladding; there were a number of issues that came together that meant that the fire service were concerned about those blocks and the action was taken by the local authority."

She added: "We are making sure that the authority has the ability to do what is necessary to ensure people have somewhere to stay and that the work is done so that those tower blocks will become safe for them to return to in future."

Mrs May said the Government was working with local authorities across the country to address fire safety concerns about tower blocks following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

She said: "The Government is working with those local authorities affected by this issue to ensure that they're able to do what is necessary on the ground to reassure people about the safety of their blocks, if necessary to evacuate people, and take action to make those tower blocks safe.

"The Government is supporting local authorities to do that and together we are making sure that the resources are there to ensure that what is needed to keep people safe is done."

She said local authorities were being urged to send in samples of cladding and material to be tested and "immediate action" would be taken if the materials were found not to be up to fire safety standards.

Mrs May said the Government was working with those in the Kensington and Chelsea area to ensure people who lost their homes following the blaze at Grenfell Tower were rehoused within three weeks and provided with financial support.