LONDON (AP) — The British prime minister's office rebuked a local government council Friday for shutting down a meeting on the fatal high-rise fire in west London because journalists were present.

Theresa May's Downing Street office criticized the Kensington and Chelsea Council's decision to abort the first meeting of its Cabinet since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, citing a ruling from Britain's High Court.

"The High Court ruled that the meeting should be open and we would have expected the council to respect that," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The council, which owns Grenfell Tower, also faced criticism Friday after reports that it used more flammable materials in renovating the building to save money.

A report Friday in the Times of London cited documents showing that the council chose aluminum composite panels for the renovation project rather than a non-combustible zinc alternative. The decision saved the council around 300,000 pounds ($390,000), the Times said.

The panels are part of the exterior cladding blamed by many experts for allowing the fire to rapidly spread throughout the building, trapping many residents in their homes before firefighters could reach them. At least 80 people died.

The Times report came after council leader Nicholas Paget-Brown on Thursday abruptly ended the first Cabinet meeting since the June 14 disaster. Paget-Brown initially sought to bar the media from the meeting, then scrapped the session after media organizations won an injunction allowing reporters to be present.

Paget-Brown said that the presence of the media would "prejudice" a public inquiry into the disaster planned by the central government.

Opposition Labour Party Councilor Robert Atkinson, whose ward includes Grenfell Tower, challenged Paget-Brown loudly, yelling: "An absolute fiasco, this is why I am calling for your resignation."

Before the meeting was closed, Paget-Brown acknowledged that things had gone wrong in dealing with the aftermath of the fire.

"I realize the council has come in for much criticism for its response," he said. "I will acknowledge this and apologize for what we could have done better."