Former fire minister Mike Penning has questioned the fire regulations in the London tower block that has been alight since last night.

The Hemel Hempstead MP previously worked in the fire service. 

READ MORE: At least six dead as 24-storey tower block destroyed by huge blaze

He told BBC: “First of all I was l listening to the residents there and I can see the fire fighters even though they have trained for this sort of fire would never in their wildest dreams would never experienced this.

“We have never had a fire like this in the UK, we’ve had plenty of fires in flats and tower blocks but not one that has spread so fast and so badly as this and taken so many lives and taken so many people injured.

"I have never seen a fire of this size or nature when I was in the fire service, or serving as a minister or even as a member of the public.”

Mr Penning said that he would have expected the roof cladding to be made of a material that would not burn, but saw it burning clearly from the film footage.

He said he could not believe what he was hearing when residents spoke of their smoke alarms not working and stairwells leading into combustible areas of the building, when these areas should be safety zones.

An inspection undertaken in November where neighbours advised authorities of their concerns, but nothing seems to have come of this.

The former fire-fighter lost his role as Minister for the Armed Forces in a cabinet reshuffle yesterday following the General Election.

READ MORE: Herts MP sacked from armed forces ministry as Theresa May reshuffles cabinet

He added: “The whole reason that we have fire regulations is so that we can protect the residents and the public, and they then can report their concerns.

“These are then checked out fully so there is no point even having more enhanced regulations if these precautions are not adhered to.

“Normally you are advised to stay in your flat because they have the fire doors but in this particular case that clearly has not worked and so we need to find out why this has happened and they reported these safety concerns.

“The building manager has a responsibility and has a moral responsibility but the local authority who employ them these are their tenants. These are people who are in need of social housing that are living there.

“There will be a proper enquiry into what the source was, how did this fire set was it an electrical fault, was it set by somebody it is quite unusual for this sort of fire to move in this sort of way

"We have never seen this so there will be a lot of work as to find out why and make sure that this never happens again and to make the sure that residents, not only of London but the rest of the country that live in tower blocks have confidence when they go to sleep tonight."