Another form of tall building cladding has failed a fire safety test, adding to the pressure on landlords to renovate the properties.
High pressure laminate panels, commonly used to insulate tall buildings, were found to perform as poorly as the aluminium composite material cladding blamed for spreading the flames at Grenfell Tower, where 72 people died in June 2017.
The Metal Cladding and Roofing Manufacturers Association found that flames reached the top of the 9m HPL panel test wall in seven minutes and 45 seconds. Previous tests have shown the Grenfell-style panelling lasting between five and six-and-a-half minutes.
British standards require the test wall to last over 30 minutes.
