Deputy PM Angela Rayner told relatives and survivors that the remains of Grenfell Tower would be demolished at a meeting on Wednesday – We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story
Grenfell Tower block will be demolished, bereaved relatives have been told.
Deputy PM and Housing Minister Angela Rayner gave the major update after meeting with survivors and victims’ relatives on Wednesday. Charred remains of the Kensington tower block have stayed up and covered in tarpaulin since the catastrophic fire in 2017 which claimed 72 lives.
The update is a U-turn from a previous statement from the Government which said there would be no changes to the site before the eighth anniversary this June. A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, a group representing some bereaved families, said Ms Rayner had “announced the decision that the tower will have to be carefully deconstructed”.
In a previous update, the Government said structural engineering advice remained unchanged “in that the building (or that part of it that was significantly damaged) should be carefully taken down”. The current structure remains covered, with a large green heart and the words “forever in our hearts”.
There have previously been different views on what should be done with the site. While many victims’ loved ones believe the current structure should remain as a powerful reminder until criminal prosecutions are brought over the fire, recommendations have also been set out for a “place of reflection”.
An inquiry into the failings which led to the fatal blaze published its final report in September last year, concluding the disaster was the culmination of “decades of failure” by both the government and construction industry, leading to the decision to clad the tower in highly flammable materials.
Chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said all 72 deaths were avoidable, with failings coming mostly from “incompetence” but, in some cases, “dishonesty and greed”. Police and prosecutors said, in May last year, that investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026.
Startling recent figures reveal that more than 100,000 UK homes still have unsafe cladding in place more than seven years on from the tragedy. Some 116,000 residential “dwellings” are in buildings with dangerous cladding that have yet to start remediation work, the shocking figures showed. Of these, 13 blocks of flats are still up with similar ACM (aluminium composite material) cladding to Grenfell’s, all but one of which still have residents living in them.
