London tower blocks evacuated over fire fears
Updated | By AFP
Thousands of residents from 650 London flats were evacuated Saturday due to fire safety fears, but dozens refused to leave their homes.

This comes in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in which 79 people were killed.
Four of the five Chalcots Estate towers in Camden, north London, were deemed unsafe after they were found to use cladding similar to that on Grenfell, widely blamed for the rapid spread of the massive blaze last week.
Some 27 high-rise buildings in 15 local authorities have already failed urgent fire tests conducted after Grenfell, the government announced Saturday, raising fears that thousands more may need to leave their homes.
Around 4,000 residents from all five Chalcots towers were initially evacuated, but one of the five -- Blashford -- was deemed safe and residents allowed to return.
Other residents faced chaos, with temporary accommodation offered in a local leisure centre and hotels, but some refused to move.
Prime Minister Theresa May said Saturday that the government would do "what is necessary" to ensure people would have somewhere to stay.
Around 600 tower blocks are enclosed in potentially deadly cladding, with councils in Manchester, Portsmouth and London all announcing they were to immediately remove cladding from 13 structures.
On Friday, police said that manslaughter charges could be brought over the Grenfell inferno, after finding that the fire started with a faulty fridge and the building's cladding had failed safety tests.
Fiona McCormack from the London police said that tiles and insulation on the outside of the building "don't pass any safety tests."
McCormack said police were investigating companies involved in the building and refurbishment of the tower, and possible "health and safety and fire safety offences".
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