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May apologises for 'failures' in Grenfell Tower response
Theresa May has apologised for a “failure of the state, local and national” in responding to the Grenfell Tower fire
Theresa May has apologised for a “failure of the state, local and national” in responding to the Grenfell Tower fire.
The prime minister said support on the ground for families in the initial hours of the fire “was not good enough… People were left without belongings, without roofs over their heads, without even basic information about what had happened, what they should do and where they could seek help”.
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She added: “That was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most. As prime minster I apologise for that failure.”
The government does not know what the “absolute” cause of the fire was yet, Ms May said, and the investigation is “ongoing”.
Ms May was uncompromising in her assessment of the way Kensington and Chelsea Council handled the fallout of the blaze. She said it is “clear” Kensington and Chelsea Council “haven’t been able to cope with the scale of the tragedy”.
She said Grenfell Tower residents will be consulted on the terms of reference for the public inquiry into the fire.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the public inquiry but said immediate action should be taken to make improvements to fire safety in tower blocks.
He praised councils like Croydon for pledging to install sprinklers in all tower blocks of 10 storeys or more.
He said the “minimal” fire safety standards “cannot be left to a postcode lottery” and called on the government to make emergency funds available to check cladding on tower blocks and to install sprinklers.
He also said the government should bring forward a bill to implement the Lakanal House coroner’s findings
