A company linked to the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower is being excluded from the government’s Help to Buy scheme, pending the outcome of the Grenfell Inquiry.

This follows concerns over “unacceptable business practices in their company group”, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has said.

It is the latest move by Gove to target those “with serious questions to answer” in relation to the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Gove has warned the construction industry “there will be consequences for those who are responsible for the building safety crisis and those who are failing to help fix it.”

The Secretary of State has written to the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and to Homes England, which oversees Help to Buy, to inform them that it would be “against public interest” to allow Rydon Homes to sell homes via the government scheme, given its close links to a company under scrutiny in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove said:  ”It is in the public interest to exclude Rydon Homes from the Help to Buy scheme with immediate effect given the extremely concerning evidence heard by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry about its sister company.

“The development and construction industry should be in no doubt: I will continue to go after those who put lives at risk, are responsible for the building safety crisis and are failing to play their part in fixing it. The Grenfell community and innocent leaseholders deserve better.”

The Secretary of State is reviewing the government’s work in this area and will be setting out further proposals in due course.