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Morning Briefing: Will Self on Grenfell
Author and political commentator Will Self has written about the implications of the Grenfell Tower fire, as the public inquiry into the atrocity continued yesterday.
n the news
In the piece for the New Statesman, Mr Self reflects on what Grenfell says about British society and culture.
And for the same magazine, Inside Housing’s own Gavriel Hollander has produced a rebuttal to Andrew O’Hagan’s 60,000-word essay about Grenfell in the London Review of Books.
Yesterday at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick was told that the man in whose flat the blaze began “did nothing wrong” and that wealth inequality within the borough is “irrelevant”, per The Guardian.
Channel 4 News’ coverage focused on a statement by Leslie Thomas QC, acting on behalf of survivors and people bereaved by the fire, in which she focused in on stereotypes about social housing tenants.
Inside Housing’s report on yesterday’s inquiry proceedings can be found here.
Meanwhile, the firm which helped fabricate the cladding system used on Grenfell Tower, has reported slipping into a loss, according to the Evening Standard.
CEP Architectural Facades said it was “adversely affected by project delays and the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower”.
In other news, Construction Enquirer reports this morning that Homes England and Kier Residential have entered into a joint venture with housing association Cross Keys Homes to build 5,400 homes across the country.
The private rented sector is also in the news, as the government faces a High Court challenge over its ‘right to rent’ scheme.
According to The Guardian, campaign group the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has been given the right to launch a case against the policy, which requires landlords to check the immigration status of potential tenants.
Elsewhere, The Independent reports that Labour is planning to seek an amendment to the Tenant Fees Bill - currently going through parliament - to significantly reduce the amount landlords are allowed to charge as a deposit.
It comes as Glenys Thornton, shadow health minister in the House of Lords, writes a blog for Labour List calling for renters to be given better access to affordable credit.
And finally, the BBC runs a story on a report from the National Audit Office which claims the collapse of construction giant Carillion will cost the taxpayer £148m.
On social media
Twitter users reacted last night to Grenfell: The First 24 Hours, an ITV documentary.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Extremely harrowing watch. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Grenfell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Grenfell</a> The First 24 Hours. Almost a year on, no justice, no answers, no suitable accommodation for so many who lost everything that fateful night.</p>— Suzi Mann (@SuziMann) <a href="https://twitter.com/SuziMann/status/1004472675056709632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Watching Grenfell - the first 24 hours - ohh my goodness it's made me cold. So, so cold. There needs to be justice for this tragedy - but then noone thought of the 350 people in the block when the cladding was fitted. My heart is breaking again a year later. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeForGrenfell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JusticeForGrenfell</a></p>— Tilly Manners (@TillyManners) <a href="https://twitter.com/TillyManners/status/1004623488353734656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Itv now <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Grenfell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Grenfell</a> The First 24 hours. An extremely difficult watch but it is SO important that know just exactly what happened to these poor people and how they have been treated since.<br>They deserve our Solidarity 💚 and love xxxxxx</p>— Charl JFT96 Hennessy (@charlhennessy1) <a href="https://twitter.com/charlhennessy1/status/1004456422447435776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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What’s on
- Opening statements at the Grenfell Inquiry will continue this morning, including a representation from the London Fire Brigade
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