British government says 27 apartment blocks fail fire safety tests

London: Twenty seven high-rise apartment blocks have failed fire cladding safety tests that were launched in the wake of the Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 79 people, the British government said on Saturday.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said 27 developments from London in the south east to Manchester in the north and Plymouth on the south-west coast had failed fire tests on the cladding used in the buildings. 

Late on Friday nearly 4,000 residents were forced to leave five tower blocks in north London after firefighters said it was unsafe for them to stay. 

A spokesman for the Communities department said local government staff would work with the fire services to determine what action needed to be taken next.