. -- grenfell towers. there has _ frustrating. -- grenfell towers.een work— frustrating. -- grenfell towers. there has been work done - frustrating. -- grenfell towers. there has been work done and| frustrating. -- grenfell towers. i there has been work done and the mental health affect this is having on people, this is casting a pall over people's lives, and it's already gone on for we are approaching five years commit will be five years this year since grenfell. so i think it's gone on forfar too long already. at least 21 people have died in freezing temperatures in northeastern pakistan after their cars were trapped in heavy snow. the chief minister of punjab province has declared the mountain resort town of murree — where a thousand vehicles are still stranded — as a "disaster area" and has urged people to stay away. a day trip to enjoy the spectacle of the first snowfall of the season turned to tragedy. tens of thousands, including families, flocked to the popular resort town after snow began falling on tuesday. many travelled from islamabad ill

concerns over building safety were triggered by the grenfell tower fire in 2017. 72 people died.dding used, known as acm, was the primary cause of the fire's rapid spread. something wasn't right and i think you knew too. since then, the cladding crisis has only escalated. there have been a wave of demonstrations. applause this is a scandal that has been 30 years in the making. safety checks on other tower blocks after the grenfell tower fire found notjust problems with cladding, but many other fire safety defects too. so, flammable balconies, missing fire breaks, defective insulation. and the question at the heart of this issue is — who's to blame for those failures? who should pay to fix them? flat owners have come from across the uk to protest in westminster. who has the money in your block? anyone? nobody, nobody. i know of one guy, certainly, who will be going bankrupt. i've lost £75,000 of my money, really. if we're looking at £30,000 to £40,000 from remediation, that's half the value of my apartment! how is it impacting on kind of your health and your well being and how you

all the other leaseholders there, because we are several years on from the terrible events at grenfell towerheard that people are having to do extra costs thankfully not in the lower level ones, but they are bigger ones have to employ a 2k hour fire safety check to end around and make red check to end around and make sure fire doesn't start. it must be very frustrating. enormously frustrating. there has been work done and the mental health affect this is having on people, this isn't about money, this is casting a pall over people's lives, and it's already gone on for we are approaching five years commit will be five years this year since grenfell. so i think it's gone on for far too long already. the uk surpasses 150,000 deaths from covid, the first country in europe to do so. vaccines and new treatments have significantly slowed the toll from covid — but many have had to endure tragedy. you wouldn't want to be in my shoes. no one would want to lose anybody. no one could come and see you. we were left to grieve on our own, really. band plays a serenade to novak djokovic who says he had a vac

since the grenfell tower fire, important here. four and a half years, many false dawns, and we sincerely hope that today is not another one of those. widespread s math another one of those. widespread sympathy for _ another one of those. widespread sympathy for the _ another one of those. widespread sympathy for the leaseholders - another one of those. widespread i sympathy for the leaseholders but some developers say that they put up buildings and cladding that met the standards at the time and they were allowed by the regulations of the time and that that has happened under various governments of all political persuasions. that under various governments of all political persuasions.— under various governments of all political persuasions. that is why there needs _ political persuasions. that is why there needs to _ political persuasions. that is why there needs to be _ political persuasions. that is why there needs to be a _ political persuasions. that is why there needs to be a joint - political persuasions. that is why l there

the voices of the families of the bereaved and the survivors of the grenfell tower fire were heard buty the start of the action that must be taken. but labour's shadow housing secretary, lisa nandy, questioned if mr gove had the power to impose taxes on developers who won't pay. today he warned developers that if negotiation fails, our backstop, what we can do, he said, is increased taxation on those responsible, but that is not quite right, is it? i have the letter from the chief secretary to the treasury and can i remind him what it says? he was told, "you may use a high—level threat of tax or legal solutions in discussions with developers, but whether or not to impose or raise taxes remains a decision for me, the chief secretary and is not a given at this point." if i have seen this letter, i'm fairly sure that the developers have, too. it appears that what he has told the public that tax rises are the backstop is not what he has told the treasury, and this letter says, you have confirmed separately that budgets are a backstop for finding these proposals in full should sufficient fu

almost five years after the tragedy, 40% of tall tower blocks with flammable grenfell—style cladding rnment's £5 billion building safety fund. there are also nearly a thousand tower blocks with other types of dangerous cladding which need fixing as our sarah corker reports. hi, i'm allie. my name is stephen. i'm tamaya. my name's will, i'm a leaseholder of a flat in sheffield. no work has started and no funding has been confirmed. due to ongoing delays with the building safety fund. we don't know when the remediation is going to start _ four years on, these problems are still not fixed. the building is still unsafe. flat owners from across the country have shared their stories with the bbc. flat owners from across the country have shared their stories with the bbc. those flat owners from across the country have shared their stories with the bbc. those trapped flat owners from across the country have shared their stories with the bbc. those trapped in flat owners from across the country have shared their stories with the bbc. those trapped in unsafe, unsellable homes say it is taking t

figures analysed by the bbc show that 60% of tower blocks with grenfell—style acm cladding have had worklocks — less than half have been finished and signed off as safe. for other types of dangerous materials — known as non—acm cladding — progress has been slower. nearly 1,000 blocks have been approved for funding, but so far, just 18 have been completed. that's less than 2%. the government says a series of measures have been taken to make sure that the work is carried out quickly and safely. the housing secretary met with developers today to urge them to come up with more money to pay for the work to get done. in salford, these nine blocks weren't eligible for government funding. the management company removed the cladding, but problems continue. they took it off and left us. and how long has it been like this? it's been like this three or four years. inside, residents say their homes are freezing cold, and energy bills are soaring. so, as soon as it gets cold, and you've got no cladding on to keep the warmth in, you might as will get your money and flush it down the loo. it's warmer in

around 500,000 homeowners living in potentially unsafe and unsellable flats, the fall—out from the grenfell towere has been traumatic and costly. leaseholders having to take out loans to strip out cladding and repair medium sized blocks of flats. me and my neighbours know we're living in unsafe clad flats so the main cost has been sleepless nights, worrying about that, but also worrying about the potential bill that is going to land on our doorstep of tens of thousands of pounds. but on monday the minister responsible for housing, michael gove, is expected to say the government will expose and pursue companies responsible for the crisis and ease the unfair burden placed on leaseholders. until now, the government's approach was for dangerous cladding removal to be paid for by the building safety fund. it was only for buildings more than 18.5 metres in height. everything else was to be covered by developers paying or via a loans scheme for leaseholders. but next week the government will tell developers they have to pay, up to £4 billion, to cover the cost of fixing or removing cladding from buildin

owners are unable to sell their properties because of safety issues discovered in the wake of the grenfell toweret out the proposals next week, but newsnight�*s lewis goodall has seen the details. he is here with me. what do we know? we see in a letter secretary to the treasury simon clark to michael gove, the levelling up secretary, which lays out in detail what mr gove is going to announce next week. the big headline is around £4 billion of money will be made available to leaseholders in buildings between 11 metres and 18.5 metres to pay for dangerous cladding removal costs. that's being used because up until now the government's policy has been that only payments will be made for buildings over 18.5 metres. critics have long said that's an arbitrary figure and should be changed, so an important step forward for many leaseholders involved. but the critics will say there are a few caveats. first of all this new money will not cover non—cladding problems, of which there are legion. many have been discovered since grenfell. secondly, it's not clear what the process will be for the government to r

rights of families bereaved through public tragedies, like the hillsborough disaster and the grenfell tower representation for bereaved families, and public servants like the police to be compelled to tell the truth at all inquiries. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz has more. # you'll never walk alone...# the hillsborough families and survivors spent 30 years fighting forjustice. now, their court days are behind them but there are renewed calls for legal change. we need to find those witnesses and prove that kevin could have been saved. this week, a drama about hillsborough mum ann williams has given that momentum. today, two former prime ministers during the campaign for a hillsborough law. i've been struck in the case of hillsborough but in other cases too, the way in which the state of its various forms tries to defend itself from blame. the very bodies that we expect to protect and support the public seek instead to protect themselves. we need that hillsborough law now. i a new legal duty of candor and that . means no cover—ups, no concealments, no closing of ranks. pro

around 500,000 homeowners living in potentially unsafe and unsellable flats, the fall—out from the grenfell towere has been traumatic and costly. leaseholders having to take out loans to strip out cladding and repair medium sized blocks of flats. me and my neighbours know we're living in unsafe clad flats so the main cost has been sleepless nights, worrying about that, but also worrying about the potential bill that is going to land on our doorstep of tens of thousands of pounds. but on monday the minister responsible for housing, michael gove, is expected to say the government will expose and pursue companies responsible for the crisis and ease the unfair burden placed on leaseholders. until now, the government's approach was for dangerous cladding removal to be paid for by the building safety fund. it was only for buildings more than 18.5 metres in height. everything else was to be covered by developers paying or via a loans scheme for leaseholders. but next week the government will tell developers they have to pay, up to £4 billion, to cover the cost of fixing or removing cladding from buildin

and we are approaching the five—year anniversary of grenfell tower in june.broader than cladding. it is inappropriate wooden balconies, it doesn't cover any of that. what is welcome is the government has finally seen sense, according to the details we have seen so far, in the position of loans which are going to put on the shoulders... ultimately what they need to do here is actually except those cross party members and protect leaseholders from historical remediation human this is a mess they never created and they are facing bills of thousands and thousands of pounds and some are going bankrupt as we speak. it you going bankrupt as we speak. if you were in power. _ going bankrupt as we speak. if you were in power, how— going bankrupt as we speak. if you were in power, how would - going bankrupt as we speak. if you were in power, how would you - going bankrupt as we speak. if you were in power, how would you help those power immediately because you are pointing out that people have had ongoing costs in some cases. leaseholders who have had to pay for round—t

following the grenfell tower fire, the cladding crisis has left many flat owners facing heavy bills toed to pay £4 billion to fix problems with mid—rise flats — those not covered by the existing government scheme for taller buildings — or be hit with a tax. our correspondent sarah corker reports. removing dangerous cladding — the grenfell tragedy exposed the scale of building safety failures across britain. the government says it will pressure the construction sector to pay under the government's £4 billion scheme, people living in blocks between 11—18 metres won't have to pay to remove dangerous cladding. instead, developers will be expected to cover their costs, orface new laws or tax hikes. there will also be a review of the scale of the work needed, and the time limit to sue builders for defects will be extended from six to 30 years. there was some relief here in south london. the government says people like neil in low—rise blocks won't face cladding costs, but he's still worried about unaffordable bills. it seems like a step in the right direction, but at the same time, the cladd

in england from the ruinous costs of removing unsafe cladding, more than four years after the grenfell tower the work themselves. the housing secretary, michael gove, said this morning that the government would be prepared to take legal action to make builders pay. leaseholders didn�*t create this problem and, in many cases, the sums concerned are sums that these poor individuals simply can�*t pay. but it is the case that companies which do have significant turnovers, significant profits, significant dividends going out — they can pay and we will make sure that they will. we hope that there will be a recognition, of a shared responsibility. i think that most people in the sector recognise that more needs to be done. but if necessary, then we can always use legal means and the ultimate backstop of tax in order to ensure that they pay. but what i want to do is to work with developers because, as i say, the overwhelming majority of people in the sectorjust want to work with us to resolve this problem. charlotte meehan lives with her husband in a development with fire safety issues in east londo

since the grenfell tragedy nearly five years ago, the row over who should pay to make other tower blocks will confirm later today that people living in smaller blocks will not have to foot the bill for cladding costs. but non—cladding faults won't be covered. campaigners like sophie from stevenage want ministers to go further. it is a positive step that the government have finally agreed that leaseholders shouldn't be part of the solution to the building safety crisis. but it really doesn't go far enough in terms of the interim costs and all of the other fire safety defects that these buildings have. you can't make a building safe in terms of cladding and not fire barriers, smoke seals, insulation, because the buildings will still be classed as unsafe. the housing secretary michael gove will tell parliament that innocent leaseholders should not have to shoulder the burden. a £4 billion scheme will help people living in buildings between 11 and 18 metres who have previously missed out on grants to remove cladding. mr gove will warn developers they'll be expected to pay for the scheme or f

since the grenfell tragedy nearly five years ago, the row over who should pay to make other tower blockschanges. there will also be more money forfire alarms, a review of the scale of the work actually needed, and leaseholders will also be given more time to sue builders over defective flats up to 30 years after construction — at the moment, it's six years. developers often argue they met building regulations at the time and so shouldn't be liable for these costs. but all of this has already dragged on for years. none of these solutions will be quick or easy. and the financial situation for many is already critical. sarah corker, bbc news. new research suggests natural defences against a common cold could offer some protection against coronavirus. the small—scale study, published in nature communications, involved 52 individuals who lived with someone who had just caught covid—i9. our health correspondent jim reed has been giving me more details. one thing said by scientists is if you have been exposed another virus in the coronavirus family, not covid, could you build up some that way?

million homeowners face mounting costs for maintenance and repairs carried out in the wake of the grenfell towerhave been very reluctant to do so in the past. this again, they have been very reluctant to do so in the past.— to do so in the past. this has been an incredibly _ to do so in the past. this has been an incredibly stressful _ to do so in the past. this has been an incredibly stressful time - to do so in the past. this has been an incredibly stressful time for i an incredibly stressful time for those affected. to what extent does this rectify all of the issues for all of the people involved? it’s all of the people involved? it's been all of the people involved? it�*s been enormously stressful. i've interviewed interviewed now lots of people affected, its hundreds of thousands of people, it has been ruinous, the mental health is devastated, they have had to go through the pandemic alongside all of this, and it has been devastating for them, and i've spoken to lots of leaseholders about this, it will be welcome news, but we should caveat it. this is only four people, it will only help peo

almost 5 years after the tragedy, 40% of tall tower blocks with flammable grenfell style cladding havemurder of her husband ken at the weekend. the elderly couple were found in their home on saturday by a neighbour. detectives are appealing for witnesses. bt has announced price rises of 9.3% for its broadband and phone services, following a dramatic increase in data usage over the last few years. the company said that customers would be paying an extra £3.50 a month on average from the 31st of march. joe biden's first year in office has not gone entirely to plan. america has a fifth ray wave of coronavirus, inflation is in a 40 year high, and he said it has been a year of challenges last night. he blamed it for transient republicans undermining his message on covid and too afraid of donald trump to sub publicly support him. he is frustrated they can't get out of the white house and hear the concerns of his supporters. we don't hear those concerns in this video. if his supporters. we don't hear those concerns in this video.— concerns in this video. if only we were brave _ concerns in th