Whirlpool washing machines have been linked to 3,000 fires over the last decade
WASHING machines made by Whirlpool are linked to almost 3,000 fires over the past decade, we can reveal.
The figure could be far higher as appliances are often destroyed in blazes.
No one has been charged despite deaths and injuries and campaigners have called for a public inquiry.
Our team analysed London Fire Brigade and Home Office figures.
Whirlpool, which made £140million profit last year, has apologised for previous scandals.
It disputes claims that a Hotpoint fridge-freezer may have caused the Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 72 people in North Kensington, West London, in 2017.
Just days ago, it urged customers not to use 519,000 Hotpoint and Indesit appliances due to a faulty door mechanism.
An electrical fault inside the door of a Hotpoint tumble-dryer caused a blaze which killed Bernard Hender, 19, and Doug McTavish, 39, in Conwy, North Wales, in 2014.
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Labour MP Andy Slaughter has accused Whirlpool of the “biggest product safety scandal in modern times”.
Lawyer Thomas Jervis, above, who represents victims, called for a public inquiry into the corporation’s product safety.
Whirlpool said the Home Office had advised that the accuracy of Fire and Rescue Service incident data “could not be guaranteed and should not be relied upon to make judgments about particular appliance makes or models”.
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