G20-bound Rishi Sunak defends ‘correct’ Raac school closures

Prime minister says example set by schools will not necessarily have to be followed by other public buildings

Rishi Sunak has defended his government's decision to shut down schools because of problems with crumbling concrete, as he aims to use this weekend's G20 summit in New Delhi to draw a line under another bruising week in office.

The prime minister told reporters on the trip to India that his education secretary, Gillian Keegan, had done the right thing in ordering 147 schools to shut buildings made with aerated concrete, after officials became concerned about structural defects. On Friday evening the Scottish government said 16 of 32 local authorities have identified Raac in their schools.