Reform Spokesperson Removed After Grenfell Comments
The housing spokesperson for Reform has been dismissed following remarks he made concerning the Grenfell disaster.
Simon Dudley, who previously held executive roles at Homes England and the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and joined Reform in February, referred to the deadly blaze as a "tragedy" but added that "everyone dies in the end."
In an interview with Inside Housing magazine, Dudley described the building safety regulations implemented after the 2017 Grenfell tragedy as "regulation which is not working."
A group representing those bereaved by Grenfell condemned Dudley's comments as "ignorant and callous."
Reform leader Nigel Farage confirmed that Dudley was "no longer a spokesman for the party." This announcement followed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's call for Farage to remove Dudley, urging on X that he should "do the decent thing."
During the interview, Dudley stated that Grenfell was "a tragedy. It was a failure." When questioned whether the fire served as a warning, he responded,
"Sadly, you know, everyone dies in the end. It's just how you go, right?"
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry determined that the 2017 fire was entirely preventable and resulted from decades of systemic failures in building regulation, widespread dishonesty in the industry regarding fire safety, and serious lapses by central government, local authorities, and the fire service.
In the same interview, Dudley remarked,
"Extracting Grenfell from the statistics, actually people dying in house fires is rare. Many, many more people die on the roads driving cars, but we're not making cars illegal, so why are we stopping houses being built?"
Criticism from Grenfell Next of Kin Group
Kimia Zabihyan, representing the Grenfell Next of Kin group, responded to Dudley's remarks, stating,
"His comments are nothing but ignorant and misinformed.
Building regulations are not what is slowing down development.
They have lots of cladding regulation across Europe, in France and Germany, that has been proven to save lives.
Similarly, in Italy and Spain where they have less regulation, they have seen incidents happen such as the Grenfell one.
It's rather reductive thing to say, as well as being callous and not very emotionally intelligent.
The death of our parents, partners, children, siblings grandparents and grandchildren in the most horrific circumstances was gross negligent manslaughter, not fate."
The group advocates on behalf of the next of kin and immediate families of those who died in the tragedy.
Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, also condemned Dudley's comments, describing them as "beyond the pale."
Political Responses and Reform UK Statement
Green Party MP Siân Berry criticized Dudley's suggestion that post-Grenfell safety regulations "have gone too far," calling it "a new low." She added,
"It shows a real disrespect to the victims of Grenfell. Anyone who has any awareness of what Grenfell residents went through, in fact anyone with any empathy or humanity, will find these comments truly abhorrent."
A spokesperson for Reform UK stated,
"Homes must, of course, be built safely. However, overly burdensome building safety regulations can stifle house building, meaning targets are missed and the waiting list for homes grows longer at a time when we need more.
Simon's comments on Grenfell reflected his broader point that the regulatory pendulum has swung too far in response to the tragedy.
As he explained, there is a fine balance between over-regulation – which can slow the delivery of new homes – and ensuring that more homes are built safely without too much red tape."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
