THE cladding material that covered the Grenfell Tower was produced by a subsidiary of a Worcester-based firm and was the ‘cheaper, more flammable’ version of two options available, reports in the national media claim.

A subsidiary of Omnis Exteriors, which has its head office based at Blackpole Trading Estate, in Worcester, fabricated the aluminium composite material (ACM) used in the cladding, the company’s director, John Cowley, is quoted as saying in the Guardian.

Omnis owns CEP Architectural Façades - which fabricated the rainscreen panels and windows at its St Helens plant.

He is quoted as saying that the firm supplied the cladding for an £8.6 million refurbishment of the London tower in 2015 - saying it was asked to supply cladding £2 cheaper a square metre than an alternative fire resistant type.

Mr Cowley told the newspaper: “We supplied components for a system created by the design and build team on that project.”

It has been reported the cladding used on the building had a polyethylene - or plastic - core, instead of a more fireproof alternative, and high-rise buildings in France, the UAE and Australia that had similar cladding have been hit by fires that spread.

Police say at least 30 people have died as a result of the blaze at the tower in west London on Wednesday.

Omnis Exteriors describes itself as a “leading UK manufacturer and supplier of exterior building products and systems”.

Its website states it has almost 400 multi-storey projects completed.

The firm reportedly produces cladding at a workshop in St Helens, supplying building projects across the country.

Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster to establish what had happened.

A blog post from Grenfell Action Group in November said “only a catastrophic event” would expose concerns residents had about the tower.

Police and Fire Minister Nick Hurd has promised the inquiry will “leave no stone unturned”.

The Worcester News attempted to contact the firm, but received no response before we went to press.

• Omnis Exteriors has subsequently released a statement. 

The firm's managing director stresses it did not manufacture Reynobond, the cladding material, instead clarifying it was "one part of the jigsaw with components coming from a variety of suppliers". 

The firm has released a statement which can be found here.