Grenfell relatives demand justice for victims
■ Calls for prosecutions after damning report into deadly tower block fire
RELATIVES OF those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire have called for prosecutions of those “at the top” after a damning report found the London Fire Brigade (LFB) breached national guidelines through “gravely inadequate” preparation.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick said the absence of a plan to evacuate the tower was a “major omission” by the LFB and more lives could have been saved had the “stay-put” policy been abandoned sooner.
Bereaved family members said it was “heartbreaking” that more of their loved ones could have been saved, and called on Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton to step down.
But some organisations questioned Grenfell inquiry chairman Sir Martin’s assertion that an evacuation had been possible.
Some of his 46 recommendations require “urgent action” from the Government and others with responsibility for the “oversight and direction” of the emergency services, he said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
Nazanin Aghlani, who lost two family members in the blaze, told an emotional press conference: “I think it’s quite evident that the whole LFB... is in the hands of people that are incapable of their jobs. They should be discharged of it. They’re responsible for a lot of lives and they don’t care much. They should be prosecuted.
“I’m not saying individual firemen, they do a hard job... but the seniors at the top get good money to do a very serious job.”
Flora Neda and her son Shekeb Neda were the only people to escape from the tower’s 23rd floor, but her husband Mohammed, known as Saber, died.
She told the press conference: “We haven’t seen firefighters on floors 18 to 23. I believe none of them came to rescue us.”
Ms Neda said she was told by another resident that firefighters were on their way up and had advised they should stay where they were, adding that she believes her husband and others would be alive today had they not listened.
Responding to the report, Ms Cotton said many recommendations were welcome and would be “carefully and fully” considered by senior officers.
She has resisted multiple calls for her to resign as commissioner, and said the brigade was “fully cooperating” with the police.
Asked about accusations she was “criminally negligent”, Ms Cotton said: “I think it is right that the police are the ones who will look into that.”
She added that she regrets causing offence to those directly affected by the fire over her comments during the inquiry that she would change nothing about her team’s response on the night.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “We strongly refute the report’s assertion that it would have been possible or safe to evacuate more than 150 people via a narrow, smokelogged stairwell with just 30 firefighters. There is no evidence to suggest that this was possible.”
THE SECOND phase of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster must focus on who is to blame for the building’s “devastating refurbishment”, a group representing survivors has said.
The report of the first stage of the probe, looking at what happened on the night of the blaze, was published yesterday.
A total of 72 people died after the 24-storey tower block in north Kensington, London, was engulfed in flames following a kitchen fire on June 14, 2017.
The general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, previously told the BBC the order of the inquiry was “completely back-to-front” – a concern which has previously been voiced by the local community.
Campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell yesterday said firefighters “have been made scapegoats of Phase 1 while the ‘big’ players seem to have got off scot-free”.
Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said the findings would form a “springboard” for the next stage of his probe.
“I decided to begin the inquiry with an investigation of the events which occurred during the night of the fire because only a detailed understanding of what happened would enable me to identify effectively those aspects of the design, construction and management of the building that were primarily responsible for the disaster,” he wrote. “It is clear from what has been learnt so far that the building suffered a total failure of compartmentation. How the building came to be in that state is the most pressing question to be answered in Phase 2.”
Sir Martin will focus on the decisions that led to the highly combustible cladding being installed on the 24-storey tower block.
He will investigate the design of the cladding and choice of materials, the testing and certification of the materials, and the role of central and local government in promoting fire safety.
Grenfell United, which represents some victims, said: “Phase 2 of the inquiry must now focus on where responsibility for the devastating refurbishment lies.
“The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the tenant management organisation and all companies involved must face serious questions. There can be no more hiding or trying to shift the blame. This is just the beginning.
“There is still a long road ahead for justice and change.”