East London flats had known fire safety issues, emergency services say

A block of flats in Dagenham, east London, that caught fire on Monday, 26 August, had fire safety issues that were known to the London Fire Brigade, a spokesperson confirmed.

Forty fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze at a mixed-used residential and commercial building.

Emergency services declared the blaze a "major incident" to allow them to focus on the fire, Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne told reporters at a press conference.

Two people were taken to hospital, the fire service confirmed.