Political sea change in attitudes is needed if other tragedies are to be avoided, government is told

Charities have joined in a chorus of experts demanding the UK government abandon the deregulation of health and safety regulations following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The British Safety Council and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) are among 60 leading organisations and figures who have called for a political sea change in attitude towards regulation and fire risk management following the disaster.

They have signed an open letter to prime minister Theresa May

It states: “We believe it is totally unacceptable for residents, members of the public and our emergency services to be exposed to this level of preventable risk in modern-day Britain.

“At this crucial time of national reflection and sorrow, we urge all politicians to re-emphasise the need for effective health and safety regulation and competent fire risk management. These are fundamental to saving lives and sustaining our communities.

“We believe it is vital that this disaster marks a turning point for improved fire safety awareness and wider appreciation that good health and safety is an investment, not a cost.”

It continues: “You have it in your power to remove immediately a further risk to people at work and outside of the workplace – unwise deregulation – which threatens public and worker safety.

“We, leaders in health and safety in the UK, call on you to scrap the Government’s approach to health and safety deregulation and think again.”

At the time of writing, the official number of people confirmed dead - or missing and presumed dead - is 79, with the number expected to rise.