The Grenfell Tower fire has been labelled "the culmination of decades of failure" by the Government and construction industry to properly consider the danger of flammable materials in high-rise tower blocks, the final report into the disaster has concluded.

The public inquiry, chaired by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick, published the final report today into the causes of the 2017 fire - which killed 70 people at the scene, and two later in hospital.

The tower, in west London, was covered in flammable cladding due to the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold the material, Moore-Bick said.

He added that each one of the 72 deaths in the blaze were avoidable, and the people who lived and died in the high-rise block had "badly failed" by authorities and the construction industry through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.

Reacting to the report's release, Sir Keir Starmer said it identified "substantial and widespread failings" and pledged that the Government would carefully consider the report and its recommendations "to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again".

The Metropolitan Police said it was a "significant milestone for those deeply affected by the tragedy".

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy called the report "direct and comprehensive", and praised its "clear conclusions" as he warned police had "one chance to get our investigation right".

In their own investigation, police are examining the roles of:

He continued: "I can't pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on the bereaved and survivors, but we have one chance to get our investigation right.

"We will be thorough and diligent in our investigation while moving as swiftly as possible. We owe that to those who died and all those affected by the tragedy."

Moore-Bick said Grenfell was covered in flammable cladding due to the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold it

Grenfell Tower, pictured a few days after the firePA

A memorial sign, pictured on the hoarding around the block

The public inquiry published its final report today into the causes of the fire

The fire killed 70 people at the scene alongside two later in hospitalPA

Earlier today, Ricky Nuttall, a firefighter who was forced to abandon an attempt to rescue a resident from the tower's 15th floor, said there were a "cataclysmic series of failings" in the building, speaking to the BBC.

Nuttall told the broadcaster that he was running out of air, and alongside a colleague, they decided an attempt to reach the victim would have left "three people in mortal danger rather than one".