Cladding with fire-resistant core could have been used in Grenfell Tower for '£5,000 extra'

There are reports that the cladding on the London tower block destroyed by a fire may have accelerated the blaze, writes Claire Anderson.

The Times is reporting that the exterior cladding that encased the 24-story Grenfell Tower is banned in the United States.

A salesman for US-based Reynobond, which makes aluminium panels, told The Times that the cheaper version of aluminium panels which is thought to have been used at Grenfell Tower, are banned in American buildings taller than 40ft for fire safety reasons.

The version thought to be used at Grenfell has a flammable plastic core, rather than a fire-resistant core which is present in the more expensive versions.

“It’s because of the fire and smoke spread,” he told The Times.

Furthermore, the plastic (PE) panels are rated as "flammable" in Germany.

Reynobond sell fire-resistant panels for £24 per square metre, which is £2 more expensive than the flammable version.

The Times claim that rough calculations suggest that contractors could have used the fire-resistant version for less that £5,000 extra.

A company director of Omnis Exteriors, John Crowley, confirmed to The Guardian that Omnis had been asked to supply the cheaper version of the Reynobond cladding and that it was is £2 cheaper per square metre than the alternative fire-resistant version.

“We supplied components for a system created by the design and build team on that project,” Cowley told The Guardian.

UK Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said there would be immediate action following the early conclusions from an investigative report into the blaze which has left at least 17 people dead.

"We need to do whatever it takes to make people that live in those properties safe: that's either make the properties safe or find some other accommodation, it has to be done," Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Javid was pressed on what would happen to other buildings with the same cladding as Grenfell Tower.

He said: "What's going to be very important here is what do the fire investigators tell us from their preliminary work and obviously that work has already begun.

"If they tell us that the cladding is the problem or how cladding is put on, or there might be some other issue that no-one has thought of yet, that is what will lead that investigation.