The harrowing images of Grenfell Tower engulfed in flames will forever be seared into our city’s memory. Londoners will never forget the tragedy or the atmosphere of horror, panic and shock that rippled across the capital as daylight broke on the morning of 14 June 2017. On the fifth anniversary of the horrific fire, our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones, the survivors and the wider Grenfell community. But half a decade on, we should be able to offer more than thoughts and prayers. We should be able to provide the answers, justice and change that Grenfell residents are entitled to.
Progress has been made. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is painstakingly unearthing the truth – revealing how profits were prioritised over people’s safety, how privatisation and deregulation weakened our country’s approach to building standards, and how institutional disdain towards those in social housing had such fatal consequences. But no one has yet been held truly accountable for the combustible cladding that turned Grenfell into a death trap. That means justice is far from being done, while at the same time the far-reaching change that is so urgently needed to avoid a similar disaster is not happening fast enough.
