Watch: Grenfell inquiry chair makes statement as final report published seven years after tragedy

Watch as Grenfell inquiry chair Sir Martin Moor-Bick delivers a statement on Wednesday 4 September.

A long-awaited report into the deaths of 72 people in the fire at Grenfell Tower found the blaze was the result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin said.

He called out “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire-safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the report identified “substantial and widespread failings”, adding that the government will carefully consider its recommendations “to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again”.

The seven-volume and near-1,700 page final report of the inquiry into the disaster laid out in damning detail how those in positions of responsibility had not heeded or acted on warnings from earlier fires.