London Fire Brigade has responded to the appointment of Peter Baker as the new Chief Inspector of Buildings, who will establish and lead the new Building Safety Regulator.
The appointment has been made by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt’s Building a Safer Future report, which was commissioned following the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner Richard Mills said: “We are looking forward to working closely with the Chief Inspector of Buildings to improve building safety and help Londoners feel safer in their homes.
“This role will be hugely important in beginning to tackle some of the significant safety issues within the built environment, the nature of which in London means there is a far higher number of high-risk buildings than anywhere else.
“Our priority has always been the safety of Londoners and anything which speeds up the remediation of fire safety issues in the built environment is positive.”
Mr Baker is HSE’s current Director of Building Safety and Construction and will take up the post with immediate effect.