In case you missed it | The hidden housing scandal

Hundreds of thousands of flat owners could be forced to take on 30-year loans akin to a second mortgage to fix fire safety defects similar to those that caused the Grenfell fire. (1) https://twitter.com/thesundaytimes/status/1335465370078081026

About 200,000 high-rise flats are wrapped in flammable materials and 1.27 million modern flats — up to 5% of private homes in England — could be unmortgageable for years because of the fire risk caused by the cladding. (2)

Meanwhile, five of Britain’s biggest housebuilders — all with developments where fire risks have made it impossible to sell homes — have made pre-tax profits of almost £10bn since Grenfell. (3)

Donors linked to sites with cladding have also given up to £1m each to the Conservative Party since the incident. (4)

In July the housing ministry appointed Michael Wade, an insurance executive, to advise on how to protect leaseholders from “unaffordable” costs without burdening taxpayers.

Wade has given £77,500 to the Conservatives since 2017 and owns a £12m country house in Wiltshire. (5)

By contrast Hayley Tillotson, 28, is filling in forms to declare herself bankrupt because she cannot afford £15,000 to fix flammable high-pressure laminate cladding on her block of flats in Leeds.

“It’s more than I paid to buy it.” She says. (6)

No penalties or levies have been imposed on developers or the manufacturers of flammable materials since the Grenfell fire in 2017. (7)