Chief Executive John Lee has ordered the establishment of an independent committee, headed by a judge, to look into the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po that has claimed at least 151 lives so far.

He said ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday that the tragic blaze at Wang Fuk Court pointed to "significant lapses" in building and renovation works with multiple points of failure that, he stressed, pointed to a need for "systemic reform".

"While criminal and fire investigations are proceeding continuously, I will establish an independent committee to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth review, to review the building works system and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future," Lee said.

"To ensure the committee's independence and credibility, I will invite a judge to lead its work," he added, noting that findings by the committee would be made public in full.

To implement change, Lee said there was a need to scrutinise the safety requirements, standards, supervision and routine maintenance system for building and renovation works as well as address systemic issues such as inappropriate connected interests, conflicts of roles and corrupt collusion.

He also called for efforts to establish an "up-to-date" list of materials and testing systems that are safe and effective; examine the roles and responsibilities of all regulatory personnel, including government departments and authorised professionals; and tackle issues of corruption, bid-rigging and illegal tendering in building maintenance projects.

Other areas to work on include the supervision and responsibility on the installation and effective operation of fire-safety systems, and assessing accountability issues specifically related to the fire, as well as the adequacy of legislation and penalties.

"That is exactly why we must act seriously to ensure that all these loopholes are plugged, so that those who are responsible will be [held] accountable, the shortcomings will be addressed, the bottlenecks will be addressed," Lee said.