Grenfell firefighters ‘betrayed by the system’, says survivor

 Grenfell firefighters were “betrayed” by superiors who ordered them to follow the “stay put” policy, a survivor has said.

Rukayetu Mamudu, 70, and her grandson Tyrshondre, 12, were among the first to escape the fire on June 14. Mrs Mamudu said firefighters passed their betrayal on to those who died but they should not feel guilty as they were “let down by the system”.

Speaking ahead of the anniversary of the June 14 disaster, she warned that closure could not happen until those responsible apologised.

She said: “People were trusting the firefighters’ words. And the firefighters relied on the system. The system let them down. They are coming out to do their daily jobs without knowing they had been betrayed.

“And it’s a betrayal they passed to their victims: ‘Go back to your flat, lock your door, put blankets under your window, you will be safer there than here.’ They were roasted alive.”