Enfield Council has denied dropping a key pledge to improve fire safety measures in high-rise buildings.

The council says it plans to fit sprinkler systems in all of the borough’s tower blocks and called on the Government to fund the upgrade work.

One of the Labour Group’s manifesto pledges in the run-up to the 2018 local elections was to “install sprinklers in all of our 54 high-rise council housing blocks, investing £8 million for safety”.

It came shortly after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 people in June 2017.

But Conservative leader Cllr Joanne Laban claimed there had been a U-turn on the plans after a housing officer said in an email that the council was considering installing sprinklers “on a risk-case basis”.

The email says the council is undertaking a “full review of building safety” and has hired a consultant to carry out a feasibility study into fitting sheltered homes with sprinkler systems.

Cllr Laban said: “They have been in power for a year and have not put any sprinkler systems in any tower blocks.

“They are saying they will put them in sheltered accommodation, but they are doing a feasibility study on whether they are needed in tower blocks.

“It is a big U-turn on what they promised, considering they were saying ‘we will put them in every tower block’.”

Grenfell Tower was not fitted with sprinkler systems, which some experts say could have saved lives by stopping the fire from spreading rapidly.

A spokesperson for Enfield Council said there had been “no U-turn on the council’s intention to retrofit sprinklers in all our tower blocks, which full council agreed ‘should be funded by Government’ in a motion passed in November 2017”.

They added: “Despite central Government’s failure so far to provide this additional funding, Enfield Council continues to deliver on this commitment as our residents’ safety remains our number one priority.”

The council has already fitted several vulnerable people’s homes with portable sprinklers.

Work to fit sprinkler systems in sheltered housing blocks is also underway, with one block – Brittany House – due to have sprinklers installed later this year.

The council is carrying out feasibility studies on a further nine sites, which, subject to the report’s findings, will be programmed for installation next year.

The spokesperson added: “Our in-depth review and outline programme for all our housing blocks for the next three to five years will be completed in the autumn.

“Fire safety is a top priority of the council’s, which is why we created the officer position of resident safety director for housing and regeneration earlier this year.

“Alongside other boroughs, we continue to call on the Government to do the right thing and provide funding for the retro-fitting of sprinklers to all our high-rise buildings.”