At the Grenfell Tower inquiry, an expert has reported the blaze was probably started by overheated wiring in a fridge freezer, according to BBC News.

The report notes the principal engineer at investigations firm Failure Electrical, John Glover, told the inquiry that a connector in the Hotpoint FF175BP fridge freezer of Flat 16 had a “poor crimp connection.”

As reported by BBC, Glover said: “The overheating connector, in my opinion, was the first event that started burning the insulation on the wires that led to a short circuit.

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“The overheating of the crimp starts the fire. It overheats, it glows, it ignites.”

The Metropolitan Police identified the Hotpoint FF175BP as the cause of the Grenfell Tower Blaze in June 2017.

However, parent company Whirlpool found there was no evidence of fault with the FF175BP fridge freezers, following tests by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the manufacturer.

Alex Neill, managing director of home products and services at consumer association Which?, commented on the Grenfell inquiry claims.

He said: “The claims from this inquiry back up our own findings, which show that plastic-backed fridges and freezers put lives at risk by contributing to a fire spreading more quickly.

“These findings raise real questions around why people in the US, where these appliances are banned, are better protected than those in the UK and Europe.

“Hundreds of fridges, freezers and fridge freezers with plastic backs, currently on sale around the UK, are a potential fire risk and should be urgently removed from sale.”

Which? has called for a ban on plastic-backed cooling and freezing appliances, with immediate removal from sale.

However, the association of appliance manufacturers AMDEA slammed Which? for causing “unnecessary fear and alarm.”