The Mayor of London has called for an independent commissioner for social housing residents to act as a watchdog in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire .

Sadiq Khan expressed his disappointment that the public inquiry would not be delving into wider policy on social housing.

The Mayor argues this is vital in order to regain the confidence of the community devastated by the fire in which at least 80 people died and hundreds lost their homes as the 24-storey building was gutted by the June 14 fire.

Mr Khan called on Theresa May to put an independent commissioner in place to be able to respond to concerns of tenants more effectively, ahead of his draft London Housing Strategy to be released later this month.

As part of the plan, the Mayor is expected to call for open communication channels between social housing residents and the housing ombudsman and social housing regulator.

A blog by residents of Grenfell Tower was found to have repeatedly raised concerns over the fire safety measures in place at the North Kensington tower block, and the inquiry is set to investigate what was done by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation in relation to the resident's fears.

Prime Minister Theresa May was criticised for her reluctance to speak with the public in the immediate aftermath of the gire

Mr Khan said: “I welcomed the government’s decision to establish the Grenfell Public Inquiry, but I have been clear that the terms of reference are not as broad as I and many residents would have liked.

"It is crucial that social housing residents are able to have confidence that all the factors which led to the fire and the lacklustre response will be identified and addressed quickly and independently.

“I firmly believe residents must be at the heart of decision-making about the future of social housing.

"That’s why I am calling on the Prime Minister to work with me and residents to develop a package of measures that guarantee they have a much stronger voice.”

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