Minister relinquishes Grenfell brief after survivors object

The last meeting of the Colloque was held in January, several months before the general election.

Mr De Chalendar reportedly no longer serves as the co-chair of the conference.

The former head of Saint-Gobain was in charge of the company at the time of the Grenfell fire, when it was a majority shareholder of Celotex.

Celotex was one of the firms to manufacture the combustible insulation inside the cladding on Grenfell Tower.

The Grenfell Inquiry’s Phase 2 report, external heavily criticised Celotex for launching a “dishonest scheme to mislead its customers” over the suitability of its insulation for use on high-rise buildings.

According to the register of MPs’ interests, Ali was one of half a dozen MPs who attended this year’s Colloque in Paris in January.

Ali was re-elected to her east London seat in July, where she has been an MP since 2010.

In a statement, the Minister for Homelessness and rough sleeping said: “Trusted relationships between ministers and the Grenfell community are essential for this Department.

“Before I became a minister, I called for the French delegation of the Franco-British Colloque to cut ties with Saint Gobain. But I understand that perception matters and I have therefore concluded that the building safety portfolio would be best transferred to another minister.

“Our goals of making buildings safe and preventing another tragedy continue to be very important issues for me, and the deputy prime minister and the rest of the ministerial team have my full support in delivering on this work.”