Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown is resigning as criticism of the local authority’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire continues.
Mr Paget-Brown cancelled a meeting to discuss the fire on Thursday after a High Court ruling that would have forced the council to allow journalists to attend.
Daniel Moylan, a senior Conservative councillor, later called for Mr Paget-Brown to stand down as concerns grow over his handling of the aftermath of the blaze.
He said: “It is an extraordinary shambles. That is why I am calling for a change of leadership.
“Paget-Brown said in a statement on Thursday night that the council would be taking back control of the Grenfell crisis within the next week.
“He said the council will resume control of the support for the victims and I would query whether that is credible with the current leadership in place.
“Is that credible for the victims and sensitive to their needs?”
Asked about the decision to stop the meeting after reporters sought a court order to overturn a decision to ban them from the hearing, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said the meeting should have gone ahead.
Mrs May’s view was that the council should have “respected” a High Court ruling that the press and public should be allowed into the meeting, which was originally slated to be held behind closed doors, the spokeswoman said.
It came as Daniel Moylan, a serving Conservative councillor and former deputy leader of the council, said the incompetence of Mr Paget-Brown meant he should no longer continue in the role.
Mr Moylan, who was deputy leader of the council for 11 years, said: “It is an extraordinary shambles. That is why I am calling for a change of leadership.
“Paget-Brown said in statement on Thursday night that the council would be taking back control of the Grenfell crisis within the next week. He said the council will resume control of the support for the victims and I would query whether that is credible with the current leadership in place.
“Is that credible for the victims and sensitive to their needs?”
80 people are now thought to have died in the blaze, which broke out in a flat before rapidly spreading throughout the building.
