Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Prince of compassion
Death toll reaches 58.. but the final figure may be higher PM admits victim support has ‘not been good enough’ And SUNDAYMirror calls for a national day of mourning
A HEARTBROKEN woman sobs in Prince William’s arms in an image that captures the nation’s mood.
Fatima Jafari, 78 – whose husband went missing in the Grenfell Tower inferno – rests her head on his chest and embraces him in an incredible display of unity. And the future King hugs her back, ditching royal protocol, in an astonishing display of compassion, so far unseen from Theresa May.
The emotional scene took place during Friday’s visit by the Queen and the prince to an emergency shelter.
Fatima’s husband Ali Yawra Jafari, 82, has not been seen since being trapped in a lift while trying to escape the blaze.
The touching picture is revealed after police announced yesterday that 58 people were now feared dead. Only Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23, has been officially named as deceased.
Meanwhile, Mrs May met victims of the inferno at Downing Street as nearby protestors called for her to quit and fears rose for the structural safety of the tower as nearby tube lines were closed.
And the Queen said the country should be “resolute in the face of adversity” after a succession of tragedies as she marks her official birthday.
Yesterday Fatima’s daughter Maria, 38, broke down as she told of her guilt at not managing to save her dad.
She left him sleeping in their 11th floor flat while she and her mum went out to see how bad the fire was. But seconds after getting outside flames engulfed their flat.
INCONSOLABLE
As Maria watched helplessly her sister Nadia, 28, stumbled out, but their dad never followed. Maria said: “She told me she and my father had got stuck in the lift on the 10th floor. She couldn’t breathe because of the smoke. Someone carried her out and she lost him.”
A family friend said yesterday: “Fatima has been inconsolable. She has not stopped crying. The prince saw her in tears and went over to comfort her.
“A council worker explained to him what had happened and he told Fatima he would do everything he could to find her husband. She keeps saying, ‘I am nobody, but the Queen and future
King of this country came to see me. They really care’.”
Maria said they were well looked after by volunteers at the sports centre where they are sleeping, but she spoke of her anger that residents’ safety fears before the fire were not addressed.
She said: “My neighbour told me three months ago, ‘they are planning for our deaths’. He was right.” Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy yesterday said his officers had reached the top of the tower as part of a “phased” visual search. But he claimed it could take weeks – and “may take longer than that” – to trace all those missing.
He said: “There are 58 who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night who are missing and, sadly, I have to presume are dead. That number may change. I really hope it won’t. But it may increase.”
Mr Cundy said police had dealt with 6,000 calls, and an “exhaustive investigation to find answers” for heartbroken families had resumed. He confirmed the £8.6m refurbishment of the 24-storey block would form a specific focus of Scotland Yard’s criminal investigation.
But he said: “Our priority is to bring out those who are still in there.” In her birthday message, the Queen said it was “difficult to escape a very sombre mood” in the UK, which was “united in sadness” after recent suffering in London and Manchester. Yesterday, after a two-anda-half hour meeting with Mrs May, Grenfell Tower residents said they outlined demands and would make full statement “within community”. Meanwhile two London Tube lines were partly suspended after fire chiefs said there was a “temporary risk” of debris falling on commuters.
Labour MP David Lammy yesterday demanded the scope of the police investigation should not be hampered by the public inquiry.
The Government has announced a minute’s silence at 11am on Monday to remember those who lost their lives.
And an extra £1.5million will be provided to pay for mental health support to the emergency services, through Mind’s Blue Light Programme.