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“She would make specialist bespoke garments for celebrities, too.” A police spokesman said although there was no evidence to suggest the fire had been started deliberately, it was being treated as “potentially suspicious” until the cause could be established.

Residents of the Screaux Gardens estate, where the 1960s-built Lakanal House tower block is situated, described the 14-storey building as a “death trap” which should have been torn down.

They pointed out its dilapidated state, with continuously broken lifts and rubbish strewn throughout a single central stairwell which did not provide an adequate method of escape in the event of fire.

Some residents said that smoke alarms installed inside the building’s flats seven years ago were poorly maintained and there were no warning systems in the corridors and communal areas.

Ed Hammond, 37, an accountant who lives on the seventh floor of the tower, said the flats were “death traps”.

“If the fire is in the central area, you would virtually have nowhere to go,” he said.

Witnesses told how the fire spread rapidly. Cojo Masophe, 24, said: “At around 4pm I saw a lot of smoke and heard glass smashing. I was on the third floor, below the fire. We ran down the stairwell to get out but it was already filling up with smoke.

“When we were outside I saw a man and woman trapped above the fire, screaming. The guy was trying to make a rope out of bed sheets but it didn’t work.

“He was getting desperate and was going to jump but people said, ‘Don’t do it’. A woman on the seventh floor was holding her baby in the air screaming ‘help me, help me’.” Harriet Harman, the deputy prime minister and MP for Camberwell and Peckham, visited the scene of the tragedy yesterday and said the block’s safety record would have to be “carefully scrutinised”.

Boris Johnson, the London mayor, said: “It does seem suspicious that the fire was spreading so quickly and clearly that will be one of the prime subjects for the investigation.

“Obviously we will want to know . . . whether there was any malign intent.”

Nick Stanton, the Liberal Democrat leader of Southwark council, said he “understood and shared the concerns” of residents.

He added: “The whole block was extensively refurbished two years ago, but there is a limit to how much a borough council like Southwark can do.”

Additional reporting: Kevin Dowling

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