Premier Inn Investigates Cladding on Its Hotels After Grenfell Tower Tragedy

The UK’s largest hotel group brought in a fire safety expert to check the cladding on several of its properties, after it emerged the aluminium composite used on Grenfell Tower fuelled the inferno that cost at least 79 people their lives.

Although the finish is made from a different material, a Premier Inn spokeswoman said the company had ‘concerns that the fire-retardant cladding used may not adhere to recognised government guidance on compliance with the building regulations for use in high-rise buildings’.

In a statement published in The Guardian, she said: “An independent fire expert has assured us that these hotels are safe and that they are entirely satisfied that there are robust fire safety measures and evacuation procedures in place to protect our guests and team members.”

An investigation into 600 other residential tower blocks across the country found at least 11 others that used the same cladding that contributed to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, including a tower block in Camden, which has now had its cladding removed.

The tragedy in North Kensington has sparked outrage across the country with protests continuing across the capital. Local residents and those opposing austerity measures have called the events ‘corporate manslaughter’. Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, contractors Rydon and cladding company Harley Facades Ltd could all face criminal allegations.