The leader of a London council has quit over the Grenfell Tower fire.

Nicholas Paget-Brown, the leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, said he took responsibility for the disaster, which killed at least 80 people.

Paget-Brown announced his resignation in an interview on Friday evening.

He said he had to accept his “share of responsibility” for the “perceived failings” of the local authority in the wake of the fire. He plans to leave his post once a successor is appointed.

Paget-Brown said it was clear his position was untenable given the focus on his decision on Thursday night to cancel a council meeting about the fire when it became clear he could not hold it in private.

The decision led to a public rebuke from Downing Street. Paget-Brown said the furor had become too distracting, and that it "cannot be right that this should have become be the focus of attention when so many are dead or still unaccounted for."