Deputy PM Angela Rayner, who promised tough new reforms, told the Commons: ‘On behalf of the government, the British state, and those responsible, I am very sorry’
Angela Rayner has apologised to the victims’ families in the Grenfell Tower tragedy – as she promised “justice will be done”.
The Deputy PM, who vowed tough new reforms today, told the Commons: “On behalf of the government, the British state, and those responsible, I am very sorry.”
She announced the government has accepted the reccomendations of Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s public inquiry, which Ms Rayner said had found “political, corporate and individual failings going back decades”.
Ms Rayner also said seven organisations will be investigated as she responded to the damning landmark public inquiry into the tragedy that claimed 72 lives.
Ms Rayner said: “The inquiry uncovered serial incompetence and negligence, complacency and inaction, and blatant dishonesty and greed. The organisations that failed included the government and regulators”
Referring to the manufacturing companies whose products were used to refurbish the tower, she added: “Their disgraceful, mercenary behaviour put profit before people and exploited the regulatory regime to evade accountability with fatal consequences”
“To my disgust and their shame, some have shown little remorse and have refused to even help fix the building safety crisis that they did so much to create.
Appearing next to Keir Starmer in the Commons, Ms Rayner said the probe had found “political, corporate and individual failings going back decades”.
She said: “Sir Martin found that just about every institution and organisation charged with keeping the tower safe and protecting those who called it home, failed. His most devastating conclusion was that every single death was avoidable.”
All 58 recommendations of last year’s final report into the fire that killed 72 people in 2017 will be accepted by ministers, she insisted.
In its landmark final report – published in September – the inquiry laid bare in a 1,700-page report how Government complacency and industry dishonesty and greed led to the tragedy.
Construction manufacturers were found guilty of “systematic dishonesty”, with firms having “deliberately concealed” information about the dangers of its cladding products.
Releasing his findings at the time, Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said: “The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable, and those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants.”
