Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Fire has admitted “there were surprises” in a damning watchdog report on the London Fire Brigade, published yesterday.

Fiona Twycross said there were problems she “had absolutely no idea” existed, including the revelation that some fire engine drivers have not had training in twenty years.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the London fire service is one of the worst in the country.

It criticised the brigade’s staff culture, highlighting failures in training that mean some officers are still “strikingly” afraid to take initiative.

And it said the service was “wasteful” and must spend money more efficiently in future.

The report said the fire brigade had been “slow” to learn lessons from Grenfell Tower fire.

Speaking at the London Assembly’s budget and performance committee today, Ms Twycross said: “I would prefer not to have had surprises from this report.

“I think that if you get bad news and you’re expecting it and anticipating it, and you’ve actually understood what’s underneath it that’s one thing.

“But I do have confidence that the brigade is up for the challenge.”

The Deputy Mayor said this was the “latest in a series of incredibly difficult reports” and she believed London fire chiefs would also have “had surprises”.

East London and West Essex Guardian Series: The London Fire Brigade has faced serious criticism following Grenfell fire (Photo: Julia Gregory)The London Fire Brigade has faced serious criticism following Grenfell fire (Photo: Julia Gregory)

The brigade was heavily criticised by Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s report on Phase One of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, released in October.

Seventy-two people died in the North Kensington fire in June 2017.

Sir Martin said readiness for Grenfell was “gravely inadequate” and more lives could have been saved if the tower had been evacuated sooner.

London fire chief Dany Cotton, who led the brigade at the time of the fire, announced this month that she would resign.

She had previously planned to retire in April, but will now step down early at the end of the year.

But today, Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience defended the brigade.

Ms Twycross said problems were a “sector-wide issue” and further budget cuts would risk “continual salami slicing” of services.

She said: “The big way to save money in any brigade is through losing firefighters and losing fire stations.”

She added: “As a result of austerity and cuts, a lot of fire brigades are really struggling to deliver the service that their local population are told they can get.”

It shows a systemic problem within this administration to challenge correctly the organisations they’re responsible for

But Conservative assembly member Keith Prince accused Ms Twycross of “smoke and mirrors”.

Mr Prince said the Deputy Mayor did not know how the London fire service could be more efficient, and wasn’t “looking at the big picture and making fundamental changes”.

He said: “Your relationship with the fire brigade has been a bit too cosy.

“The Assembly’s relationship with the fire brigade has been a bit too cosy, and no one’s been asking those really difficult questions.

“This is the same situation we saw with Crossrail where the Mayor was shocked [by delays to the railway].

“It shows a systemic problem within this administration to challenge correctly the organisations they’re responsible for.”

He added: “To be fair I think it’s been going on a lot longer than that because it couldn’t get so bad in such a short period of time.”

Labour assembly member Len Duvall said the brigade needed to offer a “Grenfell plus” approach to improvements.

He said: “I know we have to make changes post-Grenfell, but these are far more deep-rooted problems that were there before and do need to be tackled.”