Grenfell campaigners say they have been told tower block will be demolished | Politics News

Grenfell campaigners say they have been told by the deputy prime minister that the tower block will be demolished, accusing her of “ignoring the voices of bereaved”.

In a statement, Grenfell United claimed Angela Rayner had not given a reason behind her decision and refused to say how many of the victims’ families and survivors had been consulted.

Confirming a meeting with the housing secretary on Wednesday they said: “Angela Rayner could not give a reason for her decision to demolish the tower.

“She refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the recent, short four-week consultation.

“But judging from the room alone – the vast majority of whom were bereaved – no one supported her decision.

“But she claims her decision is based on our views.

“Today’s meeting showed just how upset bereaved and survivors are about not having their views heard or considered in this decision.

“Ignoring the voices of bereaved on the future of our loved ones’ gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable.”

The government has previously said there will be no changes to the site before the eighth anniversary of the fire disaster, which claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017.

It is expected more details will be set out by ministers by the end of the week.

A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, a seperate group representing some bereaved families, earlier told the PA news agency that the decision around the tower’s future was “obviously a very sensitive and difficult” one.

They added: “For the next of kin of the deceased, that building is a shrine and the death place of their immediate families, their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children – but they understand the hard facts around safety.”

Engineering experts have said that while the tower remains stable, and it is safe for people to live, work and study near by, its condition will worsen over time and there is no realistic prospect of bringing it back into use.

The latest advice issued to the government in September was that the building, or the part of it that was significantly damaged, should be taken down.

What is left of the tower has stood in place since the tragedy, with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart accompanied by the words “forever in our hearts”.

Views have varied on what should happen to the site.

Some of the bereaved and survivors feel the tower should remain in place until there are criminal prosecutions over the failings which led to the disaster.

The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the fire was the result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.

He said the “simple truth” is that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were “badly failed” by authorities “in most cases through incompetence but, in some cases, through dishonesty and greed”.

However, the Metropolitan Police said last year that decisions on criminal charges for the Grenfell Tower blaze are not expected until the end of 2026.

It would mean a near 10-year wait for justice if anyone is ultimately charged – a length described by families as “unbearable”.

The disaster was Britain’s deadliest residential fire since the second world war and began a national reckoning over the safety and conditions of social housing and tower blocks.