The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has been branded "wasteful", "inadequate" in some areas and "slow to implement changes" after the Grenfell Tower fire, according to the industry watchdog.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services delivered a "disappointing report" on the capital's fire service, finding that firefighters had attended too many false alarms and missed key training exercises.

Important reviews of emergency responses and staffing arrangements have been stalled, and some staff members haven't received refresher training in over 20 years.

It is understood that the LFB saw the report six weeks ago, and commissioner Danny Cotton stood down earlier this month, retiring several months early.

The report concluded that there was "a long way to go before LFB is as efficient as it could be," criticising both the way it uses resources and makes services affordable.

HM Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Matt Parr said: "Many of its projects are wasteful, projects get started and stalled. The organisation as a whole is slow to learn."

“The tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017 was one of the biggest challenges London Fire Brigade has ever had to face. The incident has had a profound effect on how the Brigade now performs.

"Although our findings are broadly consistent with those of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, it must be emphasised that this was an inspection of the Brigade in 2019. We found that while the Brigade has learned lessons from Grenfell, it has been slow to implement the changes needed.

"This is unfortunately typical of the Brigade’s approach to organisational change.

“I expect to see improvements in the year ahead.”

There were 15 separate root and branch reviews on fire services nationwide, and the LFB were one of three to rated as Requires Improvement alongside Essex and Gloucestershire.

Andy Roe has been appointed as the new London Fire Commissioner and will take up his post from 1 January, and he "welcomed the report" and said he accepts its recommendations.

"I recognise that what’s been highlighted in the report isn’t good enough and as the new Commissioner I am committed to making the necessary improvements when I take on the position in January," he said.

“We are already delivering some of the key improvements they have highlighted and doing everything we can to provide the best possible service to the people of London and keep them safe."

In response to criticisms regarding Grenfell, he said: “We learn from every incident we attend and have introduced a range of new procedures and equipment, especially since the Grenfell Tower fire. These include fire escape hoods, drones and new technology in our Control centres."

The report did state that "criticism should be balanced, however, by the things the Brigade does well: it is good at understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies, and preventing fires and other risks.

"It also responds well with other emergency services to national risks. But it should improve the way it protects the public both through fire regulation, and how it responds to fires and other emergencies.

"Its operational policies don’t reflect national operational guidance, even for risk-critical areas such as incident command. And its incident commanders and emergency drivers are not as well trained by the Brigade as they should be. This is something that needs to be urgently addressed."