Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner

The housing secretary made the comments during a visit to Dagenham, east London, the day after a dramatic fire tore through a block of flats that was undergoing remedial works to remove “non-compliant cladding”.

More than 100 people were evacuated from the eight-storey building and two were taken to hospital. By Monday afternoon, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the blaze was under control and that all residents were accounted for.

Ms Rayner said it had been “incredible” that no one had been killed in the blaze, which occurred just a week before the Grenfell Tower inquiry’s final report is published.

Speaking to reporters while meeting residents in the area, Rayner said: “We have identified 4,630 buildings that do have the cladding on. Over 50% of them have already started the remediation work. This was one of those buildings that had started that but this is too slow for me. We need to hurry it up.”

She added: “I am meeting the Building Safety Regulator and the Health and Safety Executive to press home the urgency to make sure that that work is done.

“We’ve got to make sure the regulators are pushing that agenda because we still have far too many buildings that have got this cladding that needs to be removed and there’s a responsibility to make sure that is removed as quickly as possible.”

London fire commissioner Andy Roe said there are some 1,300 buildings across London which need remediation work done “as a priority”.

Andrew Leslie, CEO, The Association for Project Safety (APS), said: “This incident is a stark reminder that, despite the numerous regulations now in place, the safety of a building ultimately lies in the hands of its owners, and if construction work is taking place, on designers, and contractors. It is their responsibility to ensure that works are carried out safely and that the well-being of its occupants is paramount.”