Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to sack Reform’s new housing spokesperson after he described the Grenfell Tower fire as a “tragedy” but added that “everyone dies in the end”.

Simon Dudley, a former head of Homes England, announced in February that he was joining Reform, as Nigel Farage said he was planning to bring more “experts” onboard to advise the party.

However, the new Reform housing spokesperson was embroiled in controversy overnight after he gave an interview to Inside Housing magazine in which he described building safety regulations introduced after the 2017 Grenfell tragedy as “regulation which is not working”.

“That was a tragedy. It was a failure,” Dudley was quoted as saying, when asked if the fire was not a warning. “Sadly, you know, everyone dies in the end. It’s just how you go, right?” he added.

“Extracting Grenfell from the statistics, actually people dying in house fires is rare. Many, many more people die on the roads driving cars – but we’re not making cars illegal, so why are we stopping houses being built?”

The prime minister joined in condemnation of Dudley, describing his comments as shameful, as Grenfell families also criticised them.

“Nigel Farage should do the decent thing and sack him,” Starmer said on X.

The Grenfell Next of Kin group said: “The death of our parents, partners, children, siblings grandparents and grandchildren in the most horrific circumstances was gross negligent manslaughter, NOT fate. Dudley and Reform must apologise to the Grenfell Next of Kin families.” The group advocates for the next of kin and immediate families of the deceased.

The remarks were also criticised by the Fire Brigades Union, whose general secretary, Steve Wright, described them as disgusting and shocking. “Yet again, Reform has shown just how unfit it is for power with this insult to the families of those who lost their lives at Grenfell,” he said.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Homes must, of course, be built safely. However, overly burdensome building safety regulations can stifle housebuilding, meaning targets are missed and the waiting list for homes grows longer at a time when we need more.

“Simon’s comments on Grenfell reflected his broader point that the regulatory pendulum has swung too far in response to the tragedy. As he explained, there is a fine balance between overregulation – which can slow the delivery of new homes – and ensuring that more homes are built safely without too much red tape.”

Dudley, a former Conservative supporter who has experience in international banking and held roles at HSBC and other companies, was chair of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation until July last year, tasked with overseeing the creation of a new town. He had been brought into the Tory party’s treasurers department as recently as October by the party chair, Kevin Hollinrake.

After joining Reform, he said: “For too long, the two main parties have failed to deliver housing for Brits. They’ve pursued a disastrous combination of extreme levels of immigration with a severe lack of new good quality homes.”