Survivors and families are today marking five years since the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, where victims were killed in horrific circumstances.
Just before 1am on June 14, the fire broke out on the fourth floor and spread to the very top floors at a sickening rate, engulfing the higher parts of the 23-storey tower by 3am.
Flat occupant Behailu Kebede was woken by a smoke alarm and alerted the fire brigade, but there was little to stop the blaze from spreading up the building as the cheap and unsafe cladding caught fire.
A public inquiry heard cladding was added for “appearance and cost” purposes to make the building more energy-efficient and look better in the wealthy area surrounding it.
Residents in the North Kensington tower were told to remain in their flats rather than attempt to evacuate the building as the fire spread.
Five years on, the families are still waiting for justice.
How many people died at Grenfell?
A total of 72 people had their lives taken at Grenfell, trapped in a burning building they were told not to leave.
The youngest victim was Leena Belkadi, just six months old. She was found dead in her mother Farah Hamdan's arms in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floors. Farah, 31, was killed alongside her husband Omar, 32, and their other child Malak, just eight.
On the five-year anniversary, a service at Westminster Abbey was observed, while there was also a moment's silence at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush, with the name of the victims read out on the tannoy.
Later today, Grenfell survivors and bereaved families will take part in a silent walk which will begin from the tower.
Did anyone go to prison after Grenfell?
Nobody has yet gone to prison for what happened at Grenfell Tower in 2017, where 72 people should not have lost their lives.
A criminal police investigation is continuing, while a public inquiry that started in 2018 is also ongoing.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the local council responsible for the refurbishment of the tower. It outsourced the long-term safety of the tower to the tenant management organisation (TMO). Like the council, the TMO could face charges of corporate manslaughter.
The Reynobond PE 55 cladding used to coat the building did badly in fire safety tests and should not have been used on the building, but the council said suppliers, architects and designers did not raise any concerns about its use.
Company Celotex said its employees had been misleading in the way they described how the cladding should be used, while a group called Kingspan admitted the cladding used on tall buildings was different to the one subjected to safety tests.
Managers at the manufacturer of most of the cladding, Arconic, were revealed to have been told it was performing poorly. They say the onus was on building designers to determine if the product was safe.
Forty people have been questioned by police. Testimony given in the inquiry by witnesses cannot be used to prosecute them, so residents will look to the police investigation, Operation Northleigh, to see if anyone eventually goes to jail.
