‘Don’t tell anyone’: Manager at UK’s largest housing association told staff to fake fire safety files
“No one can listen to our calls?” a manager from Clarion, the UK’s largest housing association, asks one of her team on a recording that has been leaked to Sky News.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you this,” she goes on – before instructing him how to pretend he’s put up an important fire safety notice in one of their buildings.
“Just put it up on a plain bit of wall … take a picture,” she says, telling him that she’ll “come and find” him if it turns out she can’t trust him.
She brags about her management style. “I’m trying to help you hit your targets,” she says – adding: “My team is always on point, we always meet our targets.”
The recording will add to fears of residents of social housing that their safety is not taken seriously by landlords.
The conversation took place in 2022. It was reported to Clarion’s HR team in September 2023. However, an investigation only began in September 2024 when the recording was sent to Clarion management.
The manager involved was only sacked this summer – almost two years after it was first raised with Clarion.
A Clarion spokesperson told Sky News: “In 2023, our HR team received an email from a former employee raising concerns, but no supporting evidence was provided despite our request. When an audio recording was shared with us in September 2024, we immediately launched a full investigation, which led to the dismissal of a staff member.
“It is deeply regrettable that information was not shared sooner, as this would have enabled earlier action. Building safety remains our top priority across all Clarion homes.”
They added that their “investigation included interviews of all relevant team members to ensure this was an isolated incident”.
The fire safety notice being discussed in the recording was a poster advising residents who have disabilities or vulnerabilities to contact Clarion.
The need for a building owner to identify people who will need additional help in the event of a fire is part of compliance with new regulations introduced since the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 killed 72 people.
Disabled and vulnerable residents must be identified so that a “person-centred fire risk assessment” can be drawn up by the fire brigade.
Those documents should then be stored in a box on the ground floor of high-rise buildings so firefighters can easily access them in an emergency.
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Arnold Tarling
Experts warn safety failures are industry-wide
Arnold Tarling, a chartered surveyor, says the consequence of the information not being available in the event of a fire could be “death or serious injury”.
However, he says he isn’t surprised by the recording we have obtained. He believes cutting corners on fire safety “will be industry-wide” for several reasons.
“Money saving, couldn’t care less, lessons haven’t been learned, ‘it won’t happen to me,'” he says, describing an attitude he says he encounters across the housing sector.
He believes there needs to be stricter enforcement but also says workers in the industry must be prepared to call out wrongdoing.
“The fire brigade, the building safety regulator, whoever it is, needs to check, do spot checks and enforce. But when you’ve got a file which has been faked, how do you know that it’s been faked? So these issues will just simply slip through and won’t get corrected,” he warns.
‘Those in power don’t care enough’
Edward Daffarn, who survived the Grenfell fire, told Sky News that complacency about fire safety “is actually a widespread problem that still prevails”.
“I stood underneath the burning carcass of Grenfell in the days after the fire and I was absolutely convinced that it would be the catalyst for societal change,” he said.
However, more than eight years on, a new competence and conduct standard for social housing is yet to come into force and will not be fully implemented for another three to four years.
“The only conclusion I can come to is that those in power, those people who have the power to make the change necessary, really don’t care enough about people that live in social housing,” Mr Daffarn claimed.
Kwajo Tweneboa
Clarion central to government’s housing plans
As a major home builder Clarion will be one of the companies needed if the government is to deliver its ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.
Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa told Sky News: “I do worry about the fact that they are going to be in charge of housing thousands of more people up and down the country.
“They are also my landlords and it’s an absolute disgrace that five years into me campaigning, there’s still situations like this.”
A company spokesperson said: “Clarion continues to invest heavily in maintaining and improving our homes, and as a strategic partner of Homes England we are committed to playing our part in building safe, affordable homes that help tackle the housing crisis and give people a place they can call home.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “These allegations show a total disregard of vulnerable people whose lives and safety depend on strict fire safety laws.
“We are tackling the poor treatment of social housing tenants using lessons learned from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, so it can never happen again.
“Those breaking the law can already face prosecution for criminal offences including prison sentences and we’re introducing new laws so that residential personal emergency evacuation plans are required for all high-rise homes – with funding to help social landlords provide these for tenants – and ensure staff managing social housing have the skills and training to keep residents safe.”
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 and a half years after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.
Nathan Gill had “abused a position of significant authority and trust” and was “motivated by financial and political gain”, said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during remarks at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019, corresponding to his time as an MEP.
Nathan Gill is surrounded by media as he arrives at the Old Bailey. Pic: PA
The Old Bailey heard his activities were linked to pro-Russian statements about Ukraine while he was a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently the Brexit Party.
Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash and was offering to introduce other British MEPs so they could be bribed. Officers also said they believed some individuals in this case had a direct link to Vladimir Putin.
Nathan Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery. Pic: Met Police
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC previously told the court the bribery offences related to Gill’s association with pro-Russian Oleg Voloshyn, who had been a Ukrainian government official before 2014 and was sanctioned by the UK in 2022.
Gill’s activities emerged in WhatsApp messages after he was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021.
He was about to board a flight to Russia to be an observer in elections there.
Bundles of cash recovered
Police said the messages revealed Voloshyn had tasked Gill to make pro-Russian statements on a reward basis. Counter-terrorism officers said the text of some speeches was provided to Gill, which he delivered almost word-for-word.
In other cases, he was paid to offer commentary to news outlets, such as the pro-Russian media organisation 112 Ukraine.
A search of his home in Wales also uncovered thousands in euros and dollars.
Bundles of cash were recovered from Gill’s home. Pic: Met Police
Pic: Met Police
Greed ‘primary motivation’
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, described Gill as being motivated by money.
“It appears… greed was his primary motivation. But I think there’s an element of him that had a pro-Russian stance as well, but only he can answer that question, to be honest with you, he never told us that.”
Gill was interviewed in March 2022 and made no comment. He was charged and appeared in court in February 2025.
Gill said no comment when interviewed by officers in 2022. Pic: Met Police
‘A grave betrayal of trust’
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Gill’s offending as “sophisticated” and “a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate”.
She told him: “You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MPs.
“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy when politicians succumb to financial inducement.”
Gill was paid to offer commentary to pro-Russian media outlet, 112 Ukraine. Pic: Met Police
Other UK politicians at risk
Commander Murphy said that police were continuing to investigate other MEPs, including some from the UK.
“What we do know from the conversations with [Oleg] Voloshyn is that Nathan Gill actually offered his services to contact other MEPs, mostly UK MEPs, to also make statements that might be supportive of a Russian position in Ukraine,” he said.
He added: “I do believe that some of the individuals in this case do have direct connections to Vladimir Putin. And I have no doubt that if we were able to, we could follow this trail and it would lead straight to Moscow.”
Commander Dominic Murphy believes greed was Gill’s primary motivation
Gill led the Welsh wing of UKIP between 2014 and 2016 and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017.
He was an MEP between 2014 and 2020, but left UKIP in 2019 to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK.
Political fallout after prison term
Police have confirmed Nigel Farage has not been part of this investigation, but political rivals have called on the Reform UK leader to launch a thorough investigation.
Defence minister Al Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, said Gill’s actions were “a disgrace”. He added: “I just think wherever we see Russian influence in UK politics, it’s got to be weeded out.”
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Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “a traitor was at the very top of Reform UK”, referring to Gill, but also launched a direct attack on Mr Farage by calling him, and his party, “a danger to national security”.
“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said he was the world leader he admires the most.
“We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie? We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics,” he said.
Reform UK, which previously kicked Gill out of the party, said in a statement: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, welcomed Gill’s jail sentence “for his acts of betrayal in taking bribes from Russia”.
In a statement, she said: “If the former Reform UK leader in Wales was part of a broader, co-ordinated effort to advance Moscow’s agenda within our democratic institutions, then the public deserves to know the full truth, and how far Russian money and influence reached into Nigel Farage’s inner circle.”
Britons buying cocaine on a Friday night could be inadvertently funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The National Crime Agency has revealed a billion-dollar money laundering network is operating in 28 towns and cities across the UK.
Couriers collect “dirty” cash generated from drugs, firearms and immigration gangs, which is then converted into cryptocurrency.
Officials say these illicit transactions have a direct link to “geopolitical events causing suffering around the world”.
This network was first exposed because of Operation Destabilise – and to date, 128 arrests have been made, with more than £25m in cash and digital assets seized.
A poster put up in motorway service station toilets by the NCA. Pic: PA
According to the NCA, the enterprise is so prolific that it purchased a bank to facilitate payments that supported Russia’s military efforts and helped sidestep sanctions.
Posters have been put up in motorway service stations to target couriers, which warn it is “just a matter of time” before they will be arrested.
The NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki, has warned the threat posed by this money laundering network is significant.
He added: “Cash couriers play an intrinsic role in this global scheme. They are in our communities and making the criminal ecosystem function – because if you cannot profit from your crimes, why bother.
“They are paid very little for the risks they take and face years in prison, while those they work for enjoy huge profits.”
Mr Melki went on to warn that “easy money leads to hard time” – and earning just a few hundred pounds through laundering could lead to years behind bars.
Sal Melki
The NCA says Operation Destabilise has already had an impact in criminal circles, with some members of the network now reluctant to operate in London.
Those involved in the money laundering effort have also started to charge higher fees – reflecting the difficulty of cleaning ill-gotten gains.
Cryptocurrencies are often regarded as a haven for criminals because they are perceived to be anonymous, but it is possible to trace these transactions.
Chainalysis is a company that monitors suspicious activity on blockchains, a type of database that keeps records of who sends and receives digital assets – as well as how much.
Its vice president of communications Madeleine Kennedy told Sky News: “Public blockchains are transparent by design, which makes cryptocurrencies a poor vehicle for money laundering.
“With the right tools, law enforcement can trace illicit funds – whether they’re connected to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, or cybercrime – and use those insights to disrupt networks and recover assets.”
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Ekatarina Zhdanova. Pic: NCA
Last December, a global investigation led by the NCA smashed two networks whose money laundering activities were prevalent in 30 countries.
Bundles of cash were seized during raids, with detectives describing Smart and TGR as the invisible link between “Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals and drug gangs in the UK”.
One of the network’s ringleaders, a Russian national called Ekatarina Zhdanova, is currently in custody in France and awaiting trial for separate financial offences.
Security minister Dan Jarvis added: “This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine.
“We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets.”
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