Death toll at 58, as May says post-fire help for survivors ‘not good enough’
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Saturday that support for families immediately after the Grenfell Tower disaster was inadequate.
At least 58 people are thought to have died in last week’s London high-rise fire, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said Saturday, citing missing-persons reports.
And May said support for families “who needed help or basic information in the initial hours” after the disaster “was not good enough.”
The admission comes after angry protesters took to the streets Friday and again Saturday to criticize May’s response to the fire, and to demand her resignation.
The prime minister has faced criticism for not speaking to those affected immediately after the fire.
Her deputy came to her defence, insisting in a radio interview on Saturday that she is “distraught” by what happened.
First Secretary of State Damian Green described the criticism as “totally unfair.”
In a visit to the scene the day after the fire, May spoke with fire safety officials but not with local residents. On Friday, she visited victims privately at a local hospital and pledged a $6.4-million support fund for those affected.
May’s critics were quick to compare her somewhat reserved public approach with footage of opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn embracing distraught victims and London Mayor Sadiq Khan being interrupted repeatedly by locals as he made a speech at the scene.
On Saturday, May held a 2 1⁄2 -hour meeting with people affected by the fire.
The government has promised a public investigation into the fire. Green told BBC that someone would be appointed to head the inquiry in the coming days.
Flames rapidly engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping many of the tower’s 600-plus residents. The identification of the victims is proving difficult — which experts attribute to the extreme heat of the fire. British media have reported that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant type of exterior panelling on the building in a renovation that was completed just last year.
British health authorities said that 19 fire survivors are still being treated at London hospitals, and 10 of them remain in critical condition.
The death toll is expected to rise.
The tragedy cast a pall on the Trooping the Colour festivities that mark the official birthday of the Queen. A solemn Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, held a minute of silence for the fire victims at the start of the procession on Saturday.
The 91-year-old monarch said that Britain remains “resolute in the face of adversity” after the horrendous fire and recent extremist attacks in London and Manchester. The Queen said it was “difficult to escape a very sombre mood” on what is normally a day of celebration.