May doomed by her cowardice
Prime Minister’s days in No10 look numbered as even senior Tories blast her woeful response
THERESA May’s premiership was in free-fall last night after her woeful response to Grenfell Tower inferno.
As angry residents called on the Prime Minister to “get a grip” on the situation, a Tory grandee predicted she would not last in the job beyond September.
May’s robotic display when she visited the scene the day after Wednesday’s devastating fire was widely slammed.
She did not meet residents because of “security concerns” – but was shown up by the Queen yesterday, when the Monarch and Prince William spent half an hour meeting survivors, firefighters and those still searching for missing loved ones.
May’s approach was also in stark contrast to that of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who showed real empathy with the victims and hugged survivors during his visit on Thursday.
Former Tory minister Michael Portillo told BBC’s This Week that May “should have been there with the residents, which is what Jeremy Corbyn was”.
He added: “She wanted an entirely controlled situation in which she didn’t use her humanity.
“The Prime Minister would have been shouted at by the residents but she should have been willing to take that.”
In a scathing assessment, Portillo added that May was a “proven loser” and said she would be gone by September.
Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons, faced an angry crowd when she visited the scene yesterday morning to try to limit the damage to her boss.
Lashing out at May, a man told Leadsom: “At least she could have met the victims.
“Corbyn is a good man and he’s met them. He came and met the people. He didn’t come with a bunch of police. “No one even saw her.” Another resident said: “The Government need to get a grip on this situation.”
Asked by a reporter if May lacked “humanity”, Leadsom replied: “The Prime Minister is absolutely heartbroken.
“The whole sense in the House of Commons is absolute horror and shock.”
She added: “I don’t think it is appropriate to talk about whether people have humanity or not.”
May spent time in the morning meeting victims of the blaze who are being treated in hospital – but faced more criticism for choosing a “controlled environment”.
Later in the day, having been shamed by the Queen’s visit, she returned to the scene.
But dozens of police guarded every entrance of St Clement and St James Church as May spent about half an hour inside meeting survivors and volunteers helping with the relief effort.
As angry residents gathered outside demanding answers to why dozens of their neighbours had died, the Prime Minister announced a £5million fund would be made available to pay for emergency supplies, food, clothes and other costs.
The package includes a commitment that victims who lost their homes in the disaster will be rehoused close to the local area within three weeks.
The £5million Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund will help cover loss of possessions, funerals and emergency supplies.
The Treasury will also work
with banks and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure victims have access to their accounts and get the payments they would normally receive. May said: “The individual stories I heard this morning at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital were horrific. “I spoke with people who ran from the fire in only the clothes they were wearing. “They have been left with nothing – no bank cards, no money, no means of caring for their children or relatives. “The package of support I’m announcing is to give the victims the immediate support they need to care for themselves and for loved ones. We’ll continue to look at what more needs to be done.
“Everyone affected by this tragedy needs reassurance that the Government is there for them at this terrible time – and that is what I am determined to provide.”
But more queries were raised yesterday about the Government’s failure to implement safety regulations recommended after an inquiry into a high-rise fire in Camberwell, south London, in 2009 that claimed six lives.
May’s new chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, refused to answer questions about a delayed review into fire safety while he was housing minister.
Meanwhile, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called on the Government to lift the cap on council borrowing to allow local authorities to carry out urgent retrofitting work required on all existing housing stock found not to meet required safety standards.
He said: “Councils must also be given the power to borrow to invest in council housing on the scale necessary to allow all those living in homes deemed to be unsafe to be properly rehoused.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who in 2013 told Labour London Assembly member Andrew Dinsmore to “get stuffed” when he questioned swingeing fire service cuts, also waded into the growing political storm.
In a loaded criticism of London mayor Sadiq Khan, Johnson wrote on Facebook: “There has sadly been some political game playing about the terrible fire in London.
“I find it unbelievable that Labour are suggesting that this tragedy was somehow caused by fire service cuts.”