Gove has turned his ire on Rydon Homes and blocked them from the government’s Help to Buy home ownership scheme with immediate effect.

It means they no longer have government support and cannot market their properties to first time buyers, with the offer of government backed loans.

He said: “It is in the public interest to exclude Rydon Homes from the Help to Buy scheme with immediate effect given the extremely concerning evidence heard by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry about its sister company.

“The development and construction industry should be in no doubt: I will continue to go after those who put lives at risk, are responsible for the building safety crisis and are failing to play their part in fixing it. The Grenfell community and innocent leaseholders deserve better.”

Rydon was the main contractor on the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower which was destroyed by fire in June 2017 with the loss of 72 lives.

Gove has also warned the construction industry “there will be consequences for those who are responsible for the building safety crisis and those who are failing to help fix it.”

A government statement on the ongoing Grenfell inquiry said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is considering worrying evidence of potentially unacceptable practices by Rydon Maintenance Ltd – the lead contractor for the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower – before the tragedy that occurred in 2017, in which 72 people lost their lives.

“Rydon Maintenance falls under the same parent company as Rydon Homes Ltd and has directors in common.”