Grenfell Tower residents claim there were no sprinklers or fire alarms working – and they had been told to stay in their flats

A search of business registration site DueDil showed the company was later placed into liquidation.

It had been paid £3million for the work.

Rydon’s director Andrew Goldman this morning admitted on Good Morning Britain that he didn’t know the “exact specifications” of the cladding.

He said: “We don't know there is any direct link between the fire and cladding.

"There are various different types of cladding and I don’t know the exact specifications.

“It’s a terrible disaster and again we want to get to the bottom as quickly as possible.

"All the materials that we used and the procedures we put in place follow health and safety guidelines.

"These things are signed off by the relevant authorities to make sure they comply."

A statement from the company on the “devastating” fire today read: “Rydon completed a refurbishment of the building in the summer of 2016 for KCTMO (Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation) on behalf of the council, which met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards.

"We will co-operate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their inquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time."

The Sun attempted to contact Rydon for comment.

A former chief firefighter this morning described the devastating scene in north Kensington as a "third-world type accident".

He added: "It represents a failure of every component of fire safety & building management. No words for this..."

The cause of the blaze at Grenfell Tower is not known, but a blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said "only a catastrophic event" would expose the issues.

What we know so far:

• The Metropolitan Police have confirmed six people have died but the death toll is expected to rise after a huge fire engulfed Grenfell Tower in West London just before 1am last night.
• The 24 storey high tower block has 120 apartments.
• Around 69 people have been taken to six hospitals in the capital with 18 in a critical condition.
• A resident said the fire started on the fourth floor.
• Residents are still trapped inside the building but there is no fear of the block collapsing.
• The area around the tower has been closed off and around 200 firefighters are at the scene.
• Authorities say the cause of the fire is still not known.
• Residents have been seen jumping from upper floors in scenes reminiscent of September 11.
• Burning debris has been seen falling from the building.
• London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the blaze a “major incident”.
• One witness told Sky they believed the fire was started by a faulty fridge.

Several hundred people are thought to have been in the block when the fire was reported at 1.15am on Wednesday, and London Fire Brigade confirmed there had been a "number of fatalities".

Distressed loved ones of missing residents have this morning launched social media appeals in hope of finding them.

After the fire, the group posted: "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time."

The group also alleged that an announcement in a "regeneration newsletter" merely advised residents "to remain flats in the event of fire."

>In an earlier post the group said: "It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord."

There is no official confirmation of what started the fire or whether there is any human fault.

The group statement continued: "Unfortunately, the Grenfell Action Group have reached the conclusion that only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation."

The extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, but families were trapped in the burning building hours after it engulfed the block.