Ministers accused of betrayal after pausing Grenfell contract investigations

Government has halted possible public contract bans for seven firms to avoid prejudicing criminal inquiries

Survivors and bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire have accused the government of incompetence or outright indifference" after it paused investigations into possible public contract bans for firms criticised in connection with the 2017 blaze that killed 72 people.

Five months after announcing it was to look at seven firms with the possibility of banning them from public contracts, ministers confirmed a pause on Thursday to prevent any impact on criminal investigations".