'We have had zero support' – cladding scandal victims

PEOPLE affected by the cladding scandal have received “zero” support from the Welsh Government while being “ripped off” by a combined £13,000 a week, a committee heard.

- CHRIS HAINES

Peter Larwood, from the Welsh Cladiators campaign, gave evidence to an inquiry on building safety prompted by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire disaster in which 72 people lost their lives.

Asked about support from the Welsh Government, he told the Senedd’s housing committee: “What has the government done for us? Nothing, end of.”

Mr Larwood, a leaseholder at the Victoria Wharf development in Cardiff Bay, told Senedd members: “The amount of money that’s spent in different directions, be it the airport, 20mph, the Welsh language there are numbers you can put to that.

“If I say to you, ‘how much has the Welsh Government spent on where we are?. Think of it, zero, there's no money spent in supporting us in what we are doing.”

The 75-year-old said: “For the past eight years now, I have been banging my head against the wall because that's all I seem to be doing. I'm now to the point where I am so tired, so angry that we had to do it and no one else helps us.

“We are alone, it’s a tragic place to be. People’s lives have been put on hold.”