Newly appointed secretary of state for housing Michael Gove has said he is “truly sorry” for the upset caused by recent briefings about plans to demolish Grenfell Tower, which appeared in the media before they were communicated to survivors of 2017’s fire – and those bereaved by it.

In a letter to the Sunday Times yesterday, Gove said he was aware that a report carried by the paper in September had a “tremendous and justified” impact on many people affected by the fire, in which 72 lives were lost, and pledged a new era of communications.

The story Gove referred to was published before he became secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities in September’s cabinet reshuffle. He acknowledged that it had come from government sources.

…