The departure of Kensington and Chelsea council's chief executive in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster has been welcomed by campaigners and politicians.
Nicholas Holgate was forced to quit his post by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid after the local authority's handling of the crisis came under intense criticism for being too slow.
Campaigners welcomed the departure as overdue but urged Mr Javid to ratchet up pressure on the Conservative leader of the council, Nicholas Paget-Brown.
The outgoing chief executive added in a statement that he would have been a "distraction" if he had stayed in his post after the "heart-breaking tragedy", which left at least 79 feared dead.
He said: "Serving the families so desperately affected by the heart-breaking tragedy at Grenfell Tower remains the highest priority of the council."
A "huge amount" is still to be done for the victims "in very challenging circumstances", he added, saying: "If I stayed in post, my presence would be a distraction."
Mr Paget-Brown said he accepted the resignation "with great regret" and "the council will now need to work in a new way with different partners to take this forward".
But the Justice4Grenfell campaign group said central Government should be more involved with the council.
On Mr Holgate's resignation, spokeswoman Yvette Williams told the Press Association: "He wasn't left with any alternative, I think it was the right thing for him to do, the community had been completely abandoned by the local authority.
"We thought after the first 24 hours they would just go anyway, we have been abandoned, we are almost living in the People's Republic of Ladbroke Grove.
"This represents the structure dominating society; Nick Paget-Brown comes from a political structure, the other Nick is an officer in the hierarchy, somebody's got to take the drop and it is usually the lower down person."
Asked if she would like to see the Secretary of State force the departure of Mr Paget-Brown, she agreed, adding: "It has to come from central Government, everything has to come from state level."
Survivors and the families of victims have directed considerable anger at the official response to the blaze, with residents claiming they have received little assistance from authorities.
Theresa May apologised for the failures by local and national government in reacting to the tragedy and will address the Commons on Thursday.
Shadow housing secretary John Healey echoed these concerns and accused the council of going "awol".
He told BBC Breakfast: "He's right to go, he had to go, his council went awol in the days after this terrible fire at a time when the victims, survivors, those families still looking for their family members who were missing needed help on the ground and above all someone to reassure them and coordinate the relief and help efforts.
"The council were nowhere to be seen when I was down there the day after the fire - he had no option and he was right to go.
"Who knows what went on behind the scenes? The most important thing is he has resigned, he has gone, and he had no option after the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons - quite rightly - that this was a failure of the state, national and local, to help people when they needed that help most."
Chancellor Philip Hammond said he was "not privy" to any conversations between Mr Holgate and Mr Javid, but told the programme: "Where we have seen during this terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower that we are less well organised is around the second line of response - how we support the victims, how we deal with people who are, for example, made homeless by a disaster like this."
A highly toxic gas released by insulation on the outside of the building may have contributed to deaths.
The boards, fitted during a refurbishment of the tower, could have produced enough deadly hydrogen cyanide to fill every flat, it has been reported.
Manufacturer Celotex stated the insulation would have released "toxic gases" if it caught fire.
King's College Hospital confirmed to Sky News that three of its 12 Grenfell patients were treated with the hydrogen cyanide antidote Cyanokit.
The renovation works were inspected 16 times by Kensington and Chelsea council, it has been reported.
Inspections were spread over almost two years during the £10 million project between 2014 and 2016, according to the Guardian.
Judith Blakeman, a Labour councillor who represents the Grenfell residents, told the paper: "This raises the question of whether the building regulations officers were sufficiently competent and did they know what they were looking at."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he supported a complete amnesty for any immigrants who were living in the tower illegally at the time of the blaze.
He told LBC radio: "No action must be taken against anybody in Grenfell Tower who comes forward.
"There may be some people who are sub-letting, breaching their tenancy agreement.
"There may be people who have got friends and family visiting, who they are worried about if they report them because they haven't got immigration status.
"All of those people should feel confident that, if they come forward and speak to the authorities, that no action will be taken."