Sir Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to dismiss Reform UK's housing spokesman, Simon Dudley, after he made what the Prime Minister described as “shameful” remarks about the Grenfell Tower fire. The comments, which included the phrase “everyone dies in the end”, were condemned by Grenfell United, a group representing bereaved families and survivors, as “deeply dehumanising”.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister wrote: “Shameful. Nigel Farage should do the decent thing and sack him.” Grenfell United issued a statement saying the comments were “not just insensitive” but “deeply dehumanising”, adding: “Our loved ones did not simply ‘die’. They were failed. They were trapped in their homes, in a building that should have been safe, in a fire that should never have happened.”
Mr Dudley, a former executive at Homes England and the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, had told Inside Housing magazine that the Grenfell fire was a “tragedy” but that the pendulum had “swung too far the wrong way” on regulation. He later apologised, saying: “In no shape or form am I belittling that disaster or the huge loss of life … I am sorry if it was not sufficiently clear.” He also cited concerns that excessive regulation was worsening the housing crisis, pointing to Berkeley Group's recent pause on land purchases.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry's final report, published in September 2024, found that the 72 deaths were avoidable and resulted from “decades of failure” by governments and the building industry. Mr Dudley was appointed as Reform's housing spokesman last month, tasked with leading a review into Britain's building crisis. Nigel Farage is expected to face questions on the matter at a press conference later today.
