Blitz Bureau
A public inquiry into a fire at the Grenfell Tower apartments in London that killed 72 people seven years ago is ready with the report and is expected to release it on September 4. Survivors and families hoped that it would spell out who was to blame. The fire that ripped through the 23-storey social housing block in one of the wealthiest areas of west London during the early hours of June 14, 2017, was Britain’s deadliest in a residential building since World War Two.
Many awaited rescue
A combustible cladding system retrofitted to the tower’s exterior helped the flames to spread uncontrollably, while many died in their apartments because they followed official guidance to stay where they were and await rescue.
Harrowing accounts of those who perished in the densely populated social housing block prompted national soul-searching over building standards and the treatment of lowincome communities. The inquiry into the disaster, headed by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick, will deliver its final conclusions, having examined the building’s design and maintenance, whether safety regulations were adhered to and if they were adequate.
Under scanner
British police have said 58 people and 19 firms and organisations are under investigation over possible criminal offences.
Any charges remain years away because of the complexity and the need to consider the inquiry’s report. They could include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety offences and misconduct in a public office. Relatives of victims said they were unhappy as prosecutions had been delayed.
