Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matthew Pennycook has pressed the Prime Minister to make private high-rise owners pay to strip dangerous Grenfell-like cladding from buildings.

Mr Pennycook said that hundreds of his constituents are living in buildings lined with flammable cladding, and called for the government to act rather than “ask owners nicely”.

Plans were finally submitted in January to strip New Capital Quay in east Greenwich of its flammable lining after months of uncertainty for residents.

NCQ is thought to be the largest development with Grenfell-like cladding. Residents across 11 blocks were left in limbo last year after a wrangle over who would pay.

An application to remove the ACM cladding came five months after insurer National House Building Council agreed to pay for the work.

People living in NCQ were facing a share of a bill of up to £40m for cladding removal as well as round-the-clock fire wardens.

Speaking in Parliament today, Mr Pennycook asked Theresa May: “Hundreds of leaseholders in my constituency and thousands more across the country are not only still living in privately-owned buildings covered in dangerous Grenfell-style cladding, they have no idea whether they will have to pay the full cost of remedial works and interim fire safety measures.

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“I’m sure the Prime Minister will tell me that she expects building owners not to pass on these costs and that nothing is ruled out but all my constituents want to know is: When will the Government act to make private owners pay, rather than just continue to ask them nicely?”

The Prime Minister replied: “We have repeatedly called on private building owners not to pass costs onto leaseholders.

“As a result of our interventions, 216 owners have either started, completed or have commitments in place to remediate and 50 are not co-operating but we’re maintaining pressure on those and we rule nothing out.

“We have established a taskforce to oversee the remediation of private sector buildings and that is actively working to do just that.”