Grenfell Tower inquiry to open with tributes to victims
THE Grenfell Tower inquiry is to open today with two weeks of tributes to the victims of the high-rise fire.
Seventy-one people died in the blaze that swept through the west London tower block on June 14 last year.
The venue for the first stage of the inquiry was changed in December at procedural hearings after lawyers for the victims argued that it should be “closer to where the disaster occurred”.
Campaigners also complained that the central London location was not suitable because it meant survivors would have to undergo further trauma by travelling in “deep, claustrophobic Tube tunnels” each day.
Today, bereaved relatives and friends will join together to paint a picture of the loved ones they lost before the retired judge who is chairing the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-bick.
A series of pre-recorded videos and statements will be delivered during commemorations that will now take place at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in south Kensington. The rest of phase one of the inquiry will take place at Holborn Bars in central London, where procedural hearings took place.
Families have been invited to speak about the bereaved, read poems, sing or provide pre-recorded video messages on the inquiry’s opening day, in an effort to ensure that “we will never lose sight of who our work is for and why we are doing it”, the lead counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett, said.
Slater and Gordon barrister Kieran Mitchell, who is representing three victims’ families, said the opportunity for them to have their voices listened to had been “a long time coming”.
He said: “Starting this inquest process with statements and images means we have a stark understanding of how this horrific event has obliterated so many lives,” he said.
“However, this is just the beginning. “We must get the answers everyone craves and understand how this tragedy could ever have been allowed to happen.
“Ultimately our clients want justice and we will not rest until those culpable are held accountable.”