DANGEROUS design flaws in buildings are threatening further serious fires like Grenfell, the London Fire Brigade warned yesterday in a landmark review.

The brigade’s report warned “dangerous decisions” are being made due to a lack of safety measures.

It called for loopholes to be closed and for regulation of those responsible for ensuring a building is “fit for purpose.”

Currently there is a lack of scrutiny around whether those who make decisions are sufficiently qualified in fire safety, the study found.

Major problems including construction defects and critical fire safety system flaws were also discovered.

Assistant commissioner for fire safety Dan Daly said: “It took a tragedy for everyone to take fire safety seriously and listen to what the brigade has been saying for years about skills.

“This means that potentially dangerous design flaws could exist within a building until we either find it at a later date, or in the worst case scenario, it is exposed by a serious fire.”

In June, over 80 people died in the disastrous blaze at Grenfell Tower in Kensington. A final death toll has yet to be confirmed.

Concerns about the fire risk posed by cladding used to insulate the 24-storey block were raised in a parliamentary report 17 years previously, and resident warnings went ignored.

The tower block was managed on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea Council by a Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which took control of its housing stock in 1996.

In 2016, Grenfell Action Group — made up of tenants — warned in a blog: “Only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders.”

Following the tragedy, checks on the Ledbury Estate in Southwark found that the structure of blocks was unsafe and could lead to collapse in the event of a gas explosion.

London Fire Brigade is calling for a clampdown on companies which act as building management as well as offering fire engineering design advice. It wants to see a clearer legal definition of their responsibilities.

There also needs to be an independent on-site inspection programme so fire safety elements are included in building designs through to when they are built — a loophole means a fire safety professional is not currently mandatory in designing some elements.

Mr Daly said: “We recognise that this is a once in a generation opportunity to make buildings safer and are actively supporting the review process.”

Shadow fire and emergency services minister Chris Williamson welcomed the “long overdue” recommendations, saying inspections should never have been deregulated under Tony Blair’s government in 2005.

He told the Star: “This laissez faire, cavalier approach leads to a catastrophe like Grenfell. We need to return to the old days of proper oversight by local authorities.”

He also  criticised the practice of signing off building works remotely.

Justice For Grenfell campaign co-ordinator Yvette Williams blamed deregulation and privatisation for shortfalls.

She said: “Anybody can do the health and safety checks — you just go on a course for a couple of days. It used to be regulated by the Fire Service, but cuts mean they are no longer responsible.”

Lack of agreed standards mean lack of accountability, she said, adding that cladding used at Grenfell Tower would have been signed off in this way.

Ms Williams said: “Privatisation and deregulation go hand in hand, and were a catalyst for Grenfell to happen.

“Working-class communities are almost always likely to suffer and get the dirty end of the stick.

“It’s all about deregulation, profit, and lack of accountability.”