Government to cover cladding costs to avoid Grenfell style disasters

Tributes at a Grenfell Tower memorial. Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

The Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has confirmed that the government will spend £200m on replacing Grenfell style cladding on approximately 150 private tower blocks.

He had previously said the costs should be covered by owners rather than the taxpayer.

Seventy-two people died in the Grenfell disaster in June 2017, with evidence supporting the theory that highly combustible cladding material was primarily responsible for the fire spreading.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed his support for the government footing the bill:

Tim Clist reports:

Holland & Barrett drop wet wipe range

Photo: Mike Kemp/In PIctures via Getty Images

Holland & Barrett will remove its entire wet wipe range from 800 UK and Ireland stores to help reduce damage caused to water systems and the environment.

Experts estimate that around 9.3m wet wipes are flushed down UK toilets each day – they can cause blockages in sewage systems, and can be harmful to marine life when washed out to sea.

Water UK estimate that wet wipes alone are responsible for 93% of material in sewer blocking ‘fatbergs’, which have increased in frequency in recent years.

Londonmultimedianews reporter Lauren Eisen spoke to Londoners about the product.

Australian bank note typo mishap

The spelling mistake occurred in the microprint of a speech by Australia’s first woman parliamentarian Edith Cowan. Photo: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images

The Reserve Bank of Australia have been embarrassed by the revelation that 46 million new banknotes contain a typo.

The $50 note was released into circulation with the word ‘responsibility’ misspelt, lacking the final ‘i’ and so reading ‘responsibilty’.

The word was included in an excerpt of a speech from Edith Cowan, Australia’s first female member of parliament.

A spokeswoman for the central bank confirmed that the erroneous notes remained ‘legal tender’.

All English final harms Southgate’s Nations League preparations

Caption: Naomi Baker/Getty Images

Liverpool and Tottenham fans may be celebrating reaching the Champions League final this week, but one person who might be less enthused is England manager Gareth Southgate.

England’s opening tie in the UEFA Nations League against the Netherlands on 6 June comes just five days after the final.

This means Spurs and Liverpool players involved in the tie will not be available to Southgate until weeks after the rest of the squad have gathered – the England manager has previously expressed concerns that such a situation would render his preparations a ‘mess’.

This could extend to as many as nine players, including Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson.