The firefighter who gave the order to evacuate Grenfell Tower has been appointed as the capital’s new fire chief.

Deputy Commissioner Andy Roe, currently second in command at the brigade, will replace outgoing Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton in the New Year.

Ms Cotton announced her resignation last week, after Grenfell survivors told the Mayor she should quit.

She had previously planned to retire from the fire service in April next year.

The fire chief came under attack during the first phase of the Grenfell inquiry for saying she “wouldn’t change anything we did on the night”.

She later admitted that with hindsight, the fire service would respond differently.

The devastating North Kensington fire on 14 June 2017 claimed the lives of 72 people.

Residents were initially told to remain in the building, which is normal practice for tower block fires.

But Mr Roe scrapped the “stay put” advice at 2.47am, minutes after taking command of the fire.

Experts said more lives could have been saved if residents had been told to evacuate the building earlier.

A former army officer, the Deputy Commissioner has served with the London Fire Brigade since 2002.

He was initially based as a firefighter in Clerkenwell and West Hampstead.

He is now in charge of London’s 103 fire stations and 5,000 staff, and led the response to the Croydon tram crash in 2016.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was delighted to appoint a “hugely experienced fire fighter” to lead the London brigade.

He said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report made it clear there were institutional failures that meant, while firefighters performed with great courage and bravery, the overall response to the disaster was not good enough, and there are significant lessons for London Fire Brigade.

“I look forward to working with Andy Roe to deliver on the Inquiry’s recommendations and to ensure the transformation of the brigade is carried out as effectively and swiftly as possible.”

Mr Roe said leading the fire service into a new decade would be “an enormous privilege”.

He said: "My priority is to protect and serve all Londoners and make sure the capital’s fire and rescue service is the very best it can be.

“We have some real challenges ahead, but I’ll be working tirelessly with the Brigade, the Mayor and London’s communities to ensure we deliver on the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.

“I’m looking forward to leading the Brigade through a period of transformation and delivering a workforce that truly reflects the diverse city we serve.”