I WON’T REST UNTIL I SEE JUSTICE FOR GRENFELL VICTIMS
Survivor Willie wants officials behind blaze brought to book
A GRENFELL Tower survivor has told how he cannot move on from the tragedy until criminal convictions have been brought against those responsible.
Willie Thompson is still traumatised by what he saw.
But ahead of tomorrow’s fifth anniversary of the blaze that killed 72 people in 2017, the 65-year-old said he will not waver in his determination to see justice done.
Willie has sat through every session of the inquiry into how the fire happened, so those being quizzed, including council chiefs, know there is a survivor always watching them.
It began on May
21, 2018, and is due to conclude next month, when the police will start their own probe into why the building was covered in second-rate cladding.
Willie said: “I really do think there should be prison sentences at the back end of this. We have not given up on getting these people in jail.
“It could be a losing battle but I want it to be made public that they are guilty, in our view, of 72 deaths.
“They know and we know they’re guilty. But I want the world to know. I want them to be told by a judge or whoever it may be: ‘Guilty of corporate manslaughter.’
“I honestly believe I cannot move on until I hear this. I know I can’t. And I’m not the only one.”
Willie escaped from his flat on the eighth floor with partner Mary, 60, daughter Cathy, 25, and dog Casper.
Other daughter, Laura, 27, was at university at the time of the blaze in North Kensington, West London.
Willie is scarred by the horrors he saw as the flames engulfed the building and residents were told to “stay put” in their homes by firefighters. He still has flashbacks.
He told how he and others fled to a nearby sports centre. With tears welling up in his eyes, Willie added: “That was the first time we got view of the fire. It was climbing quickly and I thought ‘Why are they not getting people out?’
“I turned to the windows, and inside were people who had been told to stay where they were, friends who never came out.”
London Fire Brigade said it has “made significant changes to our policies” on tackling high-rise building fires in the wake of criticism over the “stay put” order.
A refurbishment of Grenfell by landlord the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was completed a year before the fire. The block was covered in combustible cladding and flammable insulation, material chosen to cut costs by £293,000.
No10 said: “So far 45 of the UK’s biggest housebuilders have signed our developer pledge and will contribute £5billion to fix their unsafe buildings.”
I really do think there should be prison sentences. I believe I cannot move on until then WILLIE THOMPSON GRENFELL SURVIVOR ON JUSTICE FIGHT