Britain should be ashamed of its response to the Grenfell disaster, survivors and bereaved relatives have said as they prepare to mark the fifth anniversary with memorial services at Westminster Abbey and beside the ruined tower in west London.
Community leaders warned of a “great sense of anger” at the government and frustration at the lack of progress on criminal charges that could lead to those found responsible for the spread of the fire, which killed 72 people, being jailed. Police have made only one arrest despite evidence disclosed at the public inquiry of what the bereaved allege is fraudulent behaviour by companies that made combustible materials that led to deaths.
The government has refused to follow the inquiry’s call for personal evacuation plans to be required for all disabled high-rise residents, and more than a third of fire and rescue services in England had yet to act by April this year on the inquiry’s recommendation that they develop policies for scrapping “stay put” strategies if a fire spreads.
Tens of thousands of leaseholders remain trapped in unsaleable apartments blighted by fire safety defects similar to those found at Grenfell, and 111 high-rise buildings found to be wrapped in similar aluminium composite cladding to that which was the main cause of fire spread at Grenfell have not yet been fully fixed, with 31 yet to start any kind of works.
“Healing requires justice and justice is not being given to us,” said Sandra Ruiz, the aunt of 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez, who was among the children killed. “The [executives involved in the refurbishment] are still getting paid, they are still in their jobs, they have been able to enjoy Christmas and birthdays with family, and they made decisions that cost caused our family members to perish.”
The Metropolitan police will not decide on whether to recommend criminal charges until after the inquiry publishes its final report, which is not likely to be until 2023. The force has made one arrest, on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, and carried out several interviews under caution for suspected gross negligence manslaughter, corporate manslaughter, fraud and health and safety offences.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “We can only imagine the impact on families of a long and complex investigation and public inquiry and we do understand their frustrations.” They added that it was a “large and complex criminal investigation”.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman, died in the tower, said: “We are stuck in the same place as five years ago – a feeling of injustice and having to bang on doors to make our voices heard. Are we going to be talking about [whether there will be criminal] charges on the 10th anniversary?”
Edward Daffarn, who escaped the 16th floor, said the country should be ashamed of its response. “My mental wellbeing is very closely linked to justice and feeling that we create some sort of legacy,” he said. “But we haven’t got to that, through no fault of our own but through a mixture of incompetence and indifference from those who actually have the power to make those changes.”
Reforms of landlords’ fire safety duties, including requirements to check fire lifts and ensuring firefighters know about the makeup of buildings’ external walls, willbe laid before parliament this coming autumn. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said on Sunday that reform “urgently needed to avoid a similar disaster is not happening fast enough”.
Last week Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, apologised for the government having been “too slow to act” and having “sometimes behaved insensitively” over the last five years.
A spokesperson for his department said the new Building Safety Act “brings forward the biggest improvements in building safety for a generation”, and said 45 housebuilders had now agreed to pay £5bn to fix high-rise buildings found to be unsafe.
A design competition is expected to be launched early next year for a memorial at the site of the tower. A garden is the most popular idea canvassed by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission, which is led by survivors, the bereaved and local residents. Other suggestions have included keeping the lower floors or keeping the remains of the whole building and planting it with vegetation.
An interim options report published by the commission last month stated that a key goal was to create “a peaceful place”, but it added: “It’s difficult – some would say impossible – to imagine being in a peaceful place while we are still seeking truth and justice.”
