Legal victory for residents of 'unsafe' tower block in Manchester

There has been a legal victory for people who invested money in what they thought was a block of luxury apartments.

Those who marketed New Lawrence House in south Manchester promised it offered an ''outstanding'' investment opportunity.

However, after the Grenfell fire in London two years ago, the fire brigade inspected New Lawrence House and ordered it be evacuated after finding a catalogue of safety faults.

This morning the Court of Appeal, in London, has now ruled the building's insurers should pay 10 point seven million pounds to make the building safe.

Watch Matt O'Donoghue's exclusive report here:

A Zurich Spokesperson for New Lawrence said: "We recognise that the leaseholders of New Lawrence House have faced a long and difficult journey to obtain a resolution, and hope that today's judgement brings some certainty for them."

A spokesperson for the former directors of JCS Homes said: "In 2009 we developed New Lawrence House in Manchester.

"At the outset, we commissioned an internationally respected company, Zurich Building Controls and Zurich Warranties, and we put our faith in their monitoring of the site quality and adherence to building control regulation.

“At no point did Zurich Building Controls or Zurich Warranties give us cause for concern about safety or quality, at every stage of the project, sign off and approval was granted.

"At the time Zurich issued its warranty in 2010/11, the building, which had been inspected by structural surveyors, was fully compliant with all relevant regulations."