The government should fund the remediation of unsafe cladding on 157 high-rises in Manchester and recover the costs from the property sector later, Andy Burnham has said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday morning, Burnham said that out of 700 high-rise buildings in Greater Manchester, the largest concentration outside of London, 157 (22%) are in “interim measures”.

This means they are recognised as not being fire-safe but have not yet been remediated, with many residents relying on waking watch systems.