The housing secretary has threatened to prevent housebuilders from trading unless they sign up to contribute to a “voluntary” £4bn fund to pay for fire safety repairs to mid-rise buildings.

The threat to UK developers goes beyond those made by Michael Gove last month, when he first announced his plan to recoup £4bn for repairs to buildings of between 11-18m in height from developers.

At the time, Gove said he would consider using his controls over public procurement, planning powers and government funding such as Help to Buy support, to ensure developers paid in to the fund, which he put at £4bn.

…