Contractors that worked on the £8.6 million Grenfell Tower refurbishment could have spent just £5,000 more on fireproof cladding, it has been revealed.

Hundreds of Reynobond aluminium coated panels - which are banned in the US over fire safety fears - were fitted to the outside of the London high-rise last year.

The building was covered in panels with a plastic core costing £22 per square metre - just £2 cheaper than the fire-resistant version.

As the death toll continues to rise, it has been revealed contractors that worked on the £8.6 million Grenfell Tower refurbishment could have spent just £5,000 more on fireproof cladding

Grenfell Tower, which was built in 1974, before the refurbishment (left) in 2011 and with the new cladding (right before the blaze)

The death toll continues to rise following the inferno which ripped through the tower on Wednesday morning

Grief stricken relatives have now called for an inquiry into the deadly inferno

The death toll continues to rise following the inferno which ripped through the tower on Wednesday morning, with 17 people already confirmed dead and senior figures warning up to 100 could have perished.

Sky News reported that sources had told them 70 people are missing and feared dead.

Made by a firm of the same name, Reynobond panels come in three types – one with a flammable plastic core and two with fire-resistant centres.

It is thought contractors chose the cheaper plastic type for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.

How MailOnline readers can donate to a charity helping the Grenfell Tower fire victims The Grenfell Tower fire has prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support from Britons as they try to help the victims both financially and with gifts of food, clothing and other essentials. And MailOnline readers can donate to a charity co-ordinating efforts to help those whose lives were devastated by clicking here. The money will go to the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, the company’s local charity partner. The foundation is coordinating a major funding appeal with support from London Funders and the London Emergency Trust Fund, and has set up a donation page on its website. Every penny raised on the site will go directly to charities funding the relief effort in the local community, both for those who lost loved-ones and those who lost their homes and all their possessions. Readers can also donate via cheque. Please make cheques payable to ‘The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation’ and send to: Grenfell Tower Appeal, The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation, 111–117 Lancaster Road, London W11 1QT. The gutted block is just over a mile from the MailOnline and Daily Mail offices in Kensington, West London, known as Northcliffe House. Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) chairman Lord Rothermere and chief executive Paul Zwillenberg last night announced a £100,000 donation to the charity. Advertisement

A salesman for US-based Reynobond told The Times that the version used on Grenfell, which has a polythene centre and is referred to as 'PE', was banned in American buildings taller than 40ft over fire safety reasons.

'It's because of the fire and smoke spread,' he said. 'The FR (variant) is fire-resistant. The PE is just plastic.'

The PE version is used for small commercial buildings and petrol stations, he added, rather than tower blocks or hospitals.

The panel with the plastic core sells for £22 per square metre – just £2 cheaper than the fire-resistant version.

Rough calculations suggest panels covered 2,000 square metres of Grenfell Tower, meaning contractors could have used the fire-resistant type for less than £5,000 extra.

The PE panels conform to UK standards but are rated as 'flammable' in Germany.

Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid tried to reassure people living in similar high-rise blocks who fear they may be at risk or are living in a building which is covered in flammable cladding.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'There are about 4,000 high-rise buildings in the country but not all of them have been re-cladded but also let's not just make the assumption that it is all about cladding.

'We need to be led by the experts and as soon as we have more information from the experts, which we expect either later today or certainly over the weekend that is what I think should be used to do these emergency inspections.'

Labour MP David Lammy yesterday branded the Grenfell Tower blaze 'corporate manslaughter' and demanded arrests are made because he fears hundreds may have died in Britain's worst fire for decades.

And the Liberal Democrats have now called for the type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower to be banned in the UK.

Cladding is a material attached to a building's frame to create an outer wall (shown in this graphic). The process of applying the rain-proof frontage can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation behind it, shown between the first two layers

Hundreds of Reynobond aluminium coated panels - which are banned in the US over fire safety fears - were last year fitted to the outside of the London high-rise

A salesman for US-based Reynobond claimed the cladding used on Grenfell, which has a polythene centre and is referred to as 'PE', was banned in American

Left, the fire rages early on Wednesday morning, centre, firefighters battle the blaze and right, flames continue to rip through flats in the block almost 24 hours after it started

CLADDING HAS LED TO TOWER FIRES AROUND THE WORLD A fire at the Mermoz Tower Roubaix, France It is believed that cladding contributed to similar tower fires around the world, including residential blocks in Dubai, but with significantly less casualties. Questions will now be raised about why the Grenfell fire resulted in more people losing their lives. In 2012, one person lost their life and six people were injured after a fire at the Mermoz Tower Roubaix, France. In November 2012 a blaze ripped through the 34-Tamweel tower in Jumeirah Lakes, Dubai, destroying homes. It was later found that newly installed aluminium cladding could have spread the fire after a disregarded cigarette set started a rubbish fire. No one died or were injured as a result of the blaze, but many were left without their homes. In February 2015, an inferno engulfed the Torch building in Dubai after a fire was started in one of its apartments. Strong winds helped spread the fire across the 79-storey building, with residents observing that flaming panels were seen crashing to the ground. There were no deaths as a result of the fire. On New Year's Eve 2015, a fire ravaged The Address Dubai Marina hotel and spread across 40 of its 63-storeys. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, residents could see the external cladding on the corners of the building was charred black and mangled for dozens of floors. Nobody was killed, but seven people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. Advertisement

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said: 'It is simply beyond belief to think that if just £5,000 more had been spent, these tragic deaths could have been prevented.

'The government must urgently bring UK fire safety standards into line with those abroad.

'It seems people's homes were turned into death traps because they were fitted on the cheap.

'It is utterly unacceptable and must never be allowed to happen again.

'We must invest in safe, adequate homes for all and ensure strict fire safety standards are in place and fully implemented.'

The charred debris likely from Grenfell's cladding lies on grass below the tower

A children's play area is filled with debris directly under Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate

The PE panels conform to UK standards but are rated as 'flammable' in Germany, putting them in the same category as 'unprotected wood with a thickness of no more than 12mm'.

Grenfell Tower in White City was equipped with overcladding in 2016 by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited and ordered by contractor Rydon.

It has since come to light that the firm has used a similar aluminium composite material (ACM) to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents.

Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of £16 million.

Warning posters have been put up in communal areas telling residents.

Did the building's new cladding make the fire much worse? The cladding used on Grenfell Tower may have exacerbated the fire, it has been claimed. Rainscreen cladding, which was added during the block's refurbishment, can act as a 'chimney' for fires because of its ventilated cavities. Many have speculated as to whether this could have made the fire worse, and led to it spreading quickly and trapping residents. Chartered surveyor and fire expert Arnold Tarling, from Hindwoods, said that the process can create a 25mm-30mm cavity between the cladding and the insulation. 'It produces a wind tunnel and also traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building. 'So had it been insulated per se, the insulation could fall off and fall away from the building, but this is all contained inside.' He said not all insulation used in the process is the more expensive non-flammable type 'So basically you have got a cavity with a fire spreading behind it.' Rydon carried out an £8.6 million project, completed in May 2016, to modernise the outside of the building, which saw new cladding and windows installed. In a statement, the Sussex-based firm said it was shocked by the 'devastating' blaze, adding: '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'. Advertisement

The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor was reclad in a £10m refurbishment completed last year

A document submitted in a 2014 planning application linked to the work said that the exterior panels were made from 'Reynobond/Reynolux'.

These panels, made by US firm Arconic, consist of Reynolux coated aluminium sheets over a Reynobond polyethylene core.

The firm's website says that the sheets have the highest A1 European fire safety rating and are 'incombustible'.

The interior comes in two forms, one with an A2 rating that is 'non-combustible' and a second with a lesser B rating that is described on the website as 'fire retardant' and 'non-flammable, which prevents fires from spreading'.

Councils turned to cladding to meet standards set by Blair government scheme Cladding became popular as councils sought to meet insulation standards laid out under the Blair Government's £22billion Decent Homes Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2010. The programme's rules dictated that homes should have efficient heating and effective insulation, modern facilities and be in a good state of repair. For high-rise council blocks, local authorities were faced with either knocking them down, meaning they would have to find or build homes elsewhere, or refurbishing them. The latter option was much cheaper, despite the millions of pounds then pumped into the scheme. In London alone, it is believed more than £820million in public funds were paid to contractors to make alterations. Local authorities turned to cladding the outside of old council house stock, including tower blocks, in a bid to improve the buildings' appearance and the improve so-called 'thermal efficiency' ratings. A press release by a cladding firm from the time stated: 'Over-cladding existing homes to improve their energy efficiency as well as aesthetics is proving the solution of choice for local authorities in their bid to meet Decent Homes standards.' The statement gave examples in Bristol and Lanarkshire where cladding had been used to meet the terms of the programme. An architect was quoted at the time saying: 'The main priorities were to eliminate water ingress, improve the thermal efficiency of the blocks, and enhance the physical appearance of the external envelope.' Advertisement

The luxurious lifestyle of the cladding firm couple: Boss who sold materials which covered deadly tower block lives with his secretary wife in a £1 million mansion

The boss of a firm that supplied allegedly deadly cladding for Grenfell Tower has made a fortune from installing the panels.

Ray Bailey and his company secretary wife Belinda live in a grand house worth around £1million in Crowborough, East Sussex, where a Porsche and a Land Rover were parked in the drive yesterday.

Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey's Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday and enjoying luxurious ski trips.

Yesterday the couple were reluctant to answer questions about the tragedy.

Raymond Bailey is the director of Harley Facades Limited which carried out cladding work on Grenfell Tower in a contract valued at £2.6 million - which later went bust

Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey, whose Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday in 2011, insisted there 'was nothing to say' last night

The couple live in this grand house with large garden and swimming pool in Crowborough, East Sussex

Left, the fire rages early on Wednesday morning and flames continued to rip through flats in the block almost 24 hours after it started

Grenfell Tower was covered with metal over-cladding installed by Mr Bailey's company, Harley Facades Ltd, in a contract valued at £2.6million, according to the firm's website.

The cladding at the tower block sparked 'like a match', it has been claimed.

Harley Facades is reported to have used a similar aluminium composite to clad several high-rise blocks and public buildings across the country, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents.

Mrs Bailey, 56, yesterday denied any knowledge about the work at Grenfell Tower, insisting from behind the electric gates of her home, that there 'was nothing to say'.

Her husband, who entered the curtain-walling business straight from university, has boasted of 25 years of 'practical experience' on Harley Facades's website.

Mr and Mrs Bailey were director and secretary of Harley Curtain Wall, which went bust in 2015, owing creditors £1million, according to reports.

A customer demanded £428,000 for disputed work and the company owed £1.18million in total. But it was later bought for £24,900 by Harley Facades Ltd, Mr Bailey's other firm, which according to its latest accounts has £151,000 in the bank and made £299,000 profit last year.

Rydon's CEO Robert Bond (pictured with his wife at a classic car event, and right as a clown on Facebook) said last night the work 'met all required building regulations' and was signed off by the council's building control

The Rydon CEO has an Aston Martin with a private 'Bond' number plate pictured here next to the family's silver Porsche

Belinda Bailey, pictured on a ski trip, has served as secretary for her husband's cladding company

Their mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. Four cars including a Land Rover and a Porsche were parked outside

Harley Facades congratulated themselves on the work they had done at Grenfell on their Facebook page

This aerial photo taken hours after the fire ripped through the tower block shows the devastating scale of the inferno

Burning debris falls from a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London and killed at least 17

The company, which installed but did not manufacture the panels at Grenfell Tower, said in a statement they were a 'commonly used product in the refurbishment industry'.

Mr Bailey, 58, said on Wednesday night: 'This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. We will fully support and co-operate with the investigations into this fire.

'At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.' He was unavailable for further comment yesterday, apparently holed up in his country retreat.

His mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. The village of Crowborough is also home to a string of celebrities.

Mr Bailey enjoys skiing and motorsports. He has three sons, twins aged 27 and a 23-year-old.

Away from work, Mrs Bailey appears to own a number of cats and belongs to a breeder's group on Facebook. Photographs from her profile show her enjoying holidays by the sea and in the Alps. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an £8.6million refurbishment by builders Rydon, whose boss has insisted its work 'met all required building controls'.

The charred debris likely from Grenfell's cladding lies on grass below the tower

A children's play area is filled with debris directly under Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate

Rydon boss Robert Bond lives in the circled £2million mansion with swimming pool on a private estate in Orpington, Kent

The construction boss and his wife Tina (pictured) appear to enjoy sailing and exotic holidays around the world

Grenfell Tower before the refurbishment (left) in 2011 and with the new cladding (right)

Chief executive Robert Bond said the work was signed off by the council's building control officials.

Mr Bond, who has four daughters in their 20s, lives in a £2million mansion on a private estate in Orpington, Kent.

He is believed to own an Aston Martin with a 'Bond' number plate. A silver convertible Porsche was parked outside his home yesterday.

His wife Tina answered the door of the property when asked for comment and if her husband was home. She said, 'Thank you and goodbye', before closing the door.

The married couple appear to share a love for classic sports cars and have posed together in front of a silver Ferrari.

Mrs Bond's Facebook account shows the family enjoy a luxury lifestyle, including holidaying on a yacht. One photograph showed her and her daughters posing in bikinis in crystal-clear waters on an exotic holiday to a destination apparently in south-east Asia.

Left, the fire ages through several floors of the Grenfell Tower, centre, the inferno rips through the building towards the top floors and right, firefighters attempt to battle the flames on Wednesday morning

Cladding company has covered six other blocks in panels 'that went up like a matchstick' in London ALONE Fears are growing for hundreds of families living in tower blocks after it was revealed the firm which supplied the panels at the centre of the west London inferno has also carried out similar work across the capital. Grenfell Tower was equipped with overcladding by East Sussex-based company Harley Facades Limited in a contract valued at £2.6 million. It has since come to light that the firm has used a similar aluminium composite material (ACM) to clad several high rises and public buildings throughout the UK, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Ferrier Point left), a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, was clad in an aluminium composite material in 2015. Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London (pictured right) were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of £16million Castlemaine Tower (pictured left), a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court (right) in Hounslow, west London Four 23-storey tower blocks in Camden, north London were refurbished with the cladding at a cost of £16million, as was Ferrier Point, a 23-storey block with 115 flats in Newham, east London, in 2015. Six tower blocks in Harrow, northwest London, were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth £3.5million, as was the 13-storey Merit House, home to 114 flats in Barnet, north London. Castlemaine Tower, a 23-storey block in Battersea, south London, was clad and refurbished by the firm in 2014, as was Clements Court in Hounslow, west London. The material is set to be at the centre of an investigation into fire safety after witnesses claimed it 'went up like a matchstick', helping spreading the fire from the fourth floor to the roof in just 15 minutes. Six tower blocks in Harrow, northwest London (left), were given the rainproof cladding when it was refurbished in 2015 in a contract worth £3.5million, as was the 13-storey Merit House (shown right), home to 114 flats in Barnet, north London Advertisement

Pictured: The new plastic cladding hangs charred and melted underneath the windows of the Grenfell tower in west London

The £8.6million refurbishment by Rydon and the cladding by Harley Facades will be key issues at the public inquiry into the blaze. Westminster City Council said Harley Facades also supplied cladding for its Little Venice Estate.

But a spokesman said: 'There is no reason to believe the type of cladding is the same as that used at Grenfell Tower.

'Having today reviewed all records we are reassured that the cladding fully complies with all fire and safety requirements and underwent stringent checks before being certified by Building Control. However, as a precaution, we have instructed independent specialists to carry out urgent checks.'