CRIMINAL
30 years ago Britain turned its back on social housing. Profit mattered more than putting a safe roof over the heads o f our poorest. It is a diabolical f ailing which shames our nation... and ma y now have claimed more than 100 lives. We need answers. We
SHOCK and grief over the Grenfell Tower inferno were last night joined by fury as residents demanded to know why their warnings of a disaster were ignored for years.
With the official death toll rising to 17 and police warning it could top 100, MPs called on those responsible for the catastrophe to face charges.
And they demanded answers over why the concerns of the largely working-class residents were snubbed and why a pledge to review fire regulations after the last deadly tower blaze in 2009 was never carried out.
There were also questions regarding a recent refurbishment of the 24-storey block after experts claimed rain cladding used may have helped the fire spread so rapidly, trapping many inside.
Labour MP Mary Creagh said: “We’ve been talking about this as though it’s an act of God. But the truth is it wasn’t some natural disaster. This is a man-made disaster.”
Eddie Daffarn of the Grenfell Action Group – who warned in a blog last year about the fire risk at the West London block – added: “We knew this could happen but it didn’t have to.
“We wrote about this and the authorities read it and chose to do nothing.
“They chose to do nothing and people have paid with their lives.”
As Theresa May bowed to pressure and announced a full public inquiry led by a judge and police launched a criminal investigation, Labour MP David Lammy pointed the finger at Kensington and Chelsea council for the terrifying blaze.
Branding the tragedy a “crime” he said: “This is the richest borough in our country treating its citizens in this way and we should call it what it is. It is corporate manslaughter. And there should be arrests. It is an outrage.” Mr Lammy revealed a close friend of his family, 24-year-old Khadija Saye and her mum Mary Mendy who live in the tower, are still missing. He said Khadija posted a final message on Facebook at 3.30am on Wednesday as the fire raged. The Tottenham MP added: “If the fire began at 1am, why was she communicating at half past three with no help?” London mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke to residents at the scene yesterday, but PM Mrs May came under attack after making a “private” visit and not speaking directly to those affected. Mr Khan faced furious hecklers as he addressed the crowds. One shouted: “Someone needs to be held accountable. These deaths could have been prevented. We need answers.”
The mayor replied: “I know you are angry. You are right to be angry. You will get these answers.”
Mr Corbyn said: “I’ve just come from the block. I feel very, very angry. The residents are angry. Their concerns were not responded to.
“Somewhere along the line, something, be it regulations or something else, has failed.”
He urged ministers to carry out an urgent assessment of the safety of thousands of other tower blocks across the UK where residents “will be sleeping uneasily tonight”.
The first confirmed victim of the disaster was named as 23-year-old Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali.
As the search for those still missing continued, it was revealed six bodies were found outside the flats – believed to be those who tried to jump or
youngsters thrown in the hope they would be caught.
A further 11 have been counted inside but in places it still too dangerous for firefighters to enter.
At least 60 people missing have been named.
Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy warned some badly burned victims may never be known if they had no UK papers. He said: “It may be, and I just don’t know, that some victims remain unidentified.
“I won’t know that until we’ve gone through the full recovery and we know exactly what we’ve got
“We could be talking weeks we could be talking months. There is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody. We have started an investigation… and one of our very senior investigating officers is leading that for us.
“I am not saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that’s why you do an investigation, to establish it. It is going to take a considerable period of time.”
Mr Cundy said of the 30 victims taken to hospital after being rescued, 15 were still fighting for life last night.
The officer’s voice at one stage cracked as he spoke about the toll the disaster had taken on emergency staff.
He said: “From a personal perspective, for those of us that have been down there, it’s pretty emotional.”
The Fire Brigades Union said more counsellors were needed to help its “traumatised” crews deal with what they have faced.
London Fire Brigade revealed it had been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support for their teams, who have been hailed heroes all over the world.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said the charred block of flats will require a lot of internal building work before crews can go in to continue searching for bodies.
She added: “Before we do that, we will utilise specialist dog training teams, that will go through the block and the surrounding area looking for any identification of people.
“We will be on scene here for many days to come, working to ensure that we do the best for the people who are waiting for news of their loved ones.”
More than £1million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, with 60 tons of donations collected by one local mosque.
The Queen sent her “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and survivors, and paid tribute to hero firefighters.
THE more we learn, the bigger the scandal of the Grenfell Tower inferno.
Shock is now giving way to anger over the incineration of tenants who were largely poor or on low wages in one of the most affluent areas in the richest city in one of the world’s wealthiest countries.
Kensington is, as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said, a tale of two cities and we now need to know why the impoverished and struggling perished in what was a death trap.
There are many questions, including why there was a lack of alarms and sprinklers, and particularly why the recently installed cladding went up so quickly and fiercely.
As firefighters sift through the charred wreckage, experts warn some bodies may never be recovered, which deprives already bereft families of even a decent burial.
But Grenfell Tower is also a symbol of a dangerous inequality and an indifference to the powerless in our nation.
People were ignored and denied a voice, with their tragically prophetic warnings that their homes were a fire risk wrongly dismissed.
CONCERNS
We are not making a party political point. Instead we make a forceful political point about unfairness, injustice and what type of country we are or, more relevantly, should be.
For too long governments, Labour as well as Conservative, pushed council and social housing away rather than demanding that the concerns of tenants were heeded.
Since the deregulation mania initiated by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s began the process of lowering building standards, the fear grew that false efficiencies and shortcuts were putting lives at risk.
We know the lessons of a fire in South East London which claimed six lives in 2009 were not heeded and the Conservative Government must take responsibility for horrific mistakes.
Unlike Theresa May, Mr Corbyn yesterday spoke to survivors on his visit to Grenfell, as did London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who deserves credit for facing people who have every right to be furious.
Grenfell Tower is a terrible wake-up call and a reminder that we can do much better to be a decent, true One Nation.