Fire-resistant zinc cladding approved by residents of Grenfell Tower was replaced in the refurbishment contract with more flammable aluminium panels to save £293,368, according to documents seen by the Guardian. A list of amendments to the £9.2m contract between Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) and Rydon, the builder for the refurbishment of the 24-storey tower, reveals that the saving was made after tender by fitting “cassette fix aluminium cladding in lieu of zinc cladding”.

Other savings listed include the removal of all external landscaping works, saving £428,000, and changing window surrounds from birchwood to MDF or softwood in a further £117,000 cut. The aluminium cladding that was then fitted during the works, which finished last year, is suspected of having helped spread the fire that claimed at least 80 lives. It contained a flammable polyethylene core.(theguardian)…[+]