‘The post-Grenfell cladding scandal has left me penniless and about to go bankrupt’
Malcolm Cameron-Lee thought he was doing the right thing when he decided to invest his lifesavings into property twenty years ago to fund a comfortable retirement.
At the time, “pension schemes were being mismanaged” and, as an electrical contractor, he believed “the way things were working it was better to fend for yourself”.
But the dream of home ownership has turned into a nightmare because of the long-running cladding scandal that has left the 58-year-old “penniless and about to go bankrupt”.
“We’ve been stitched up for so long and now it’s ruined me,” he told Sky News.
Malcolm bought nine small rental flats in Salford’s City Link development between 2007-8, for around £80,000 each.
But now they are effectively valued at £0 because of defects found in checks required after the Grenfell Tower fire.
The issues include flammable cladding, insulation, wooden balconies, and missing fire doors – with banks unwilling to take the risk of lending on the properties until they are made safe.
The works have been estimated to cost £33,000 per flat.
While ministers have repeatedly said that leaseholders should not pay for the mistakes of developers in the wake of Grenfell, which exposed a widespread building safety scandal, Malcolm is one of many who does not currently qualify for support.
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‘We’ll force developers to fix unsafe buildings’
The protections announced in last year’s Building Safety Act exclude buy-to-let landlords who own more than three properties – so-called “non-qualifying leaseholders”.
People in this group can be liable to pay for cladding remediation and are also shut out from a protective cap on expensive non-cladding costs.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove previously said the exclusion was because he did not want to support those with “significant means” to pay for remediation themselves.
But Malcolm accused the government of “discriminating against leaseholders who have grafted all their lives and saved hard to fund our own retirements”.
Having worked as an electrical contractor for 40 years, the income from the rent on the flats was his savings to put towards his pension.
But those savings have run dry because of the “spiralling costs” of maintaining the properties.
Malcolm has had to pay “extortionate” amounts for interim safety measures such as a waking watch and new fire alarm system, the latter costing him about £1,200 per flat.
The Grenfell Tower block in west London was destroyed in a fire that killed 72 people
His annual service charge has more than doubled from £900 to £2,100 while his building insurance is expected to shoot up by 42% this year.
This is on top of rising mortgage rates which have caused his payments to soar from £20,000 to £55,000 in the last year.
Malcolm is effectively hostage to these terms because the safety issues mean “the properties are valued at nothing, so there is no chance of being able to re-mortgage or sell”.
And he fears being stuck for many more years because there is no timeline for when the remediation will be complete.
Since the issues came to light the developer of Malcolm’s 17-metre high block has dissolved and filed under a new name.
Rendall and Rittner, who now manage the City Link development, told Sky News they are “working towards a resolution” and indicated they will seek funding for the cladding removal from the government’s medium-rise scheme for where developers can’t be traced.
The Department for Housing also insisted Malcolm would benefit from this scheme, despite his non-qualifying status, when contacted for comment.
But the scheme – to be funded by a new tax on the building industry – isn’t yet open, and Malcolm can no longer afford to wait.
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“I can’t carry on, I have lost all my money,” he said.
“I am down to my last pennies, and I am going to file for bankruptcy beginning of May.
“I will lose the flats which were my income while I was retraining as something else. I will lose my home that I live in with my wife and I will lose my pension.
“I am normally very positive, but this has left me feeling broken. If I wasn’t married, I’d be on the street.”
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Grenfell: ‘We’ll fight to the end’
A spokesperson for the Department for Housing insisted “all leaseholders in buildings above 11 metres are protected from the cost of fixing unsafe cladding” as they pointed to its various funding schemes announced to address the building safety scandal.
But the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign (EOCS) said there is more to be done, and Malcolm’s “desperate story spells out the unfairness of the supposedly protective legislation that the government has devised, which has limited the help that is on offer”.
The campaign group estimates there are thousands of non-qualifying leaseholders excluded from protections in the Building Safety Act. As well as landlords with multiple properties, the group includes those in low-rise buildings below 11 metres.
Campaigners fear the dividing line will have a ripple effect on remediation, with works delayed or unable to go ahead if non-qualifying flat owners can’t pay.
Giles Grover, a spokesperson for the group, said: “The government has known about Malcolm’s circumstances for over a year, but has done nothing and there are many other non-qualifying leaseholders in the same situation – how many more ordinary people must have their lives ruined before Mr Gove, Mr Sunak and Chancellor Hunt will be moved to change course?”
World
Palestinians flock to Gaza aid centres despite concerns – as lawyers call for sanctions on Israel
Thousands of Palestinians have flocked to aid distribution sites in Gaza with desperation for food overcoming concerns over Israeli-enforced checks at the centres.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US, said on Tuesday it had distributed around 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals – just a fraction of what is needed, aid agencies say.
The centres have opened as hundreds of legal professionals in the UK, including lawyers and former judges, accused Israel of “genocide” and “war crimes”.
Palestinians carry food boxes delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah. Pic: AP
Crowds including women and children could be seen at one centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, where people received packages including rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar.
Witnesses in Rafah said Israeli gunfire was heard after desperate people broke fences to reach supplies.
The Israeli military said its forces did not direct aerial gunfire towards the centre, but rather fired warning shots in an area outside the hub.
In a statement, it said control over the situation had been established, with aid distribution to continue as planned.
Many Palestinians stayed away amid fears over Israel’s plan to use biometric screening procedures on those receiving vital food packages.
Israeli officials said one advantage of the new aid system is the chance to screen recipients to exclude anyone they say is connected with Hamas.
Thousands gather for aid. Pic: Reuters
A person kneels next to food supplies in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Humanitarian groups briefed on the plans say anyone receiving aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology – which many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to track and possibly target them.
Father-of-seven Abu Ahmed said: “As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid.”
He continued: “I am so scared because they said the company [GHF] belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go.”
A child carries a bottle of oil. Pic: Reuters
UN boycotts aid foundation
Israel previously said its forces would not be involved in the distribution points but its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, has led to many questioning the neutrality of GHF.
The United Nations and major international aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF – accusing it of undermining the principle that aid should be distributed based on need.
“Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised,” said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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Gaza babies are skin and bone
Ex-judges call for sanctions on Israel
Over 800 legal professionals – including former Supreme Court judges – have published an open letter calling for the UK to impose sanctions on Israel.
The letter says “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide”. It continues: “War crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law are being committed.”
Israel has consistently denied these accusations.
As a small flow of aid has arrived in Gaza after Israel’s months-long blockade, Israeli forces have kept up attacks on various targets in the territory.
Some 3,901 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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Women and children dead following Gaza strike
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As the GHF centres opened on Monday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 36 people in a school-turned-shelter that was hit as people slept, according to local health officials.
Israel said it targeted militants operating from the school.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
Follow the latest developments in our live blog
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada
John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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