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“We are determined that no leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn’t cause and are no fault of their own.”

Boris Johnson, House of Commons

3 February 2021

Facts

In February, Boris Johnson told parliament, “no leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn’t cause and are no fault of their own.”

Just two months later on April 28th, the government for the fifth time rejected an attempt to protect hundreds of thousands of leaseholders from crippling fire safety bills of up to £100,000 each. MPs voted against an amendment to the fire safety bill which was intended to protect leaseholders from living in unsellable and potentially dangerous high-rise homes from financial ruin.

The total bill could reach £15bn but so far the government has pledged only £5bn to fund cladding repairs on buildings over 18m tall.

Verdict

This was another statement from Boris Johnson which bore no connection with reality. The Prime Minister’s misleading remark remains on the Commons record in defiance of the Ministerial Code.

This is not the first time that Boris Johnson has been responsible for cynical and insincere remarks in connection with the Grenfell Tower tragedy. See here.

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