Reform sack housing spokesman over ‘deeply dehumanising’ Grenfell comments
Nigel Farage has sacked his housing spokesman after making “deeply inhumane” comments about the Grenfell Tower fire.
Simon Dudley, appointed as the party’s housing policy chief earlier this year, said “everyone dies in the end” and argued that “the pendulum has swung too far” on construction safety regulations in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.
The Reform England leader told a press conference on Thursday that the matter had been “resolved” after the prime minister faced calls for him to sack Mr Dudley.
A group representing some survivors and the bereaved also condemned the comments as “deeply inhumane” and described Mr Dudley’s remarks as “deeply offensive and misinformed”.
Asked at a press conference whether Mr Dudley would be sacked, Mr Farage replied: “That’s already happened.”
Asked to explain what had happened, the Reform UK leader said: “He is no longer the party’s spokesman.”
Mr Farage said Mr Dudley was fired “about an hour before” the press conference on Thursday morning after he said he had behaved “in a very hurtful, insulting way towards a lot of people”.
He said it was up to Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader and business spokesman, to make the announcement.
In an interview with Inside Housing, Mr Dudley said “fires happen” and argued there was now too much regulation in the construction industry.
After describing the fire as a “tragedy” and “failure”, he said: “Unfortunately, you know, everyone dies in the end. It goes the way you go, right?”
He added: “Many, many more people are dying driving on the roads, but we’re not making cars illegal, so why are we stopping house building?”
Fire killed 72 people and displaced many more after destroying a 24-storey social housing block in west London in June 2017.
The fire sparked a national debate about building safety regulatory reforms after a major investigation into the fire revealed that the tower was clad in flammable materials due to “systematic fraud” by companies that produce and sell cladding and insulation.
But in another interview with Housing Today, Mr Dudley argued that “the pendulum has swung too far” on reform.
The comments were met with anger and the prime minister joined calls for Mr Farage to sack Mr Dudley.
Sir Keir wrote of X: “Disgraceful. Nigel Farage must do the right thing and sack him.”
Grenfell United, a group representing some bereaved and survivors, said his remarks were “not only insensitive” but also “deeply inhumane”.
“Our loved ones didn’t just ‘die.’ They failed. They were trapped in their home, in a building that was supposed to be safe, in a fire that should never have happened. Reducing their deaths to inevitability obscures the truth: it could have been prevented,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“To talk about Grenfell in this way is to abdicate responsibility. This is not the result of years of ignored warnings, bad decisions and lack of value for residents’ lives, but simply suggests fate, ‘the way things are’, and is deeply offensive and misinformed.”
“Everyone deserves to have a safe home. But this attitude clearly shows that Simon Dudley is not the person to provide that.”
Homelessness charity Shelter also condemned the comments, calling them “disgraceful” and said in a statement: “Let’s be clear, no one should have to live in a home that could kill them. Grenfell was the result of appalling housing injustice that we should not tolerate. It is wrong to suggest we have to choose between safe homes or homelessness.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan described the comments as “sickeningly insensitive”.
He wrote of X: “Not an iota of kindness, compassion or respect for the 72 lives lost and the wider community.” “But this is not a mistake or a stumble. This is the Reformation that shows us exactly who they are.”
