UK to appoint chief inspector of buildings to address safety fears

Creation of national regulator of building safety prompted by fallout from Grenfell Tower fire

Ministers are to appoint the UK's first chief inspector of buildings in reforms prompted by the Grenfell Tower disaster and the discovery that thousands of other high-rise buildings breach fire safety regulations.

The inspector will lead a national regulator of building safety that will also police a system to designate an accountable person" for each high-rise building. They will be obliged to respond to residents' complaints after the tenants and leaseholders of Grenfell Tower said their fears about the safety of their homes were ignored by their landlords before the fire on 14 June 2017, which killed 72 people.