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Grenfell Tower fire: Met Police confirm 30 dead and 12 remain critical Grenfell Tower fire: Met Police confirm 30 dead and 12 remain critical
(about 1 hour later)
The death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire has risen to 30 and is expected to increase further, amid fury that the scale of devastation has been understated and the disaster could have been prevented.The death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire has risen to 30 and is expected to increase further, amid fury that the scale of devastation has been understated and the disaster could have been prevented.
At least one of those who died had initially been taken to hospital, were 24 victims are still receiving treatment, including 12 in critical care, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy confirmed on Friday. At least one of those who died had initially been taken to hospital, where 24 victims are still receiving treatment, including 12 who are in critical care, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy confirmed on Friday.
Local residents have disputed the figure, claiming the true scale of death is being underplayed, with scores of protesters heard during a protest at Kensington Town Hall chanting: "Not 17".Local residents have disputed the figure, claiming the true scale of death is being underplayed, with scores of protesters heard during a protest at Kensington Town Hall chanting: "Not 17".
  Theresa May was confronted with chants of "coward" and "shame on you" as she left through a side door of a north Kensington church where she had been meeting victims, residents and volunteers, after she was accused of failing to show “humanity” when she refused to meet locals during a visit the day before.
More than 70 people are believed to be unaccounted for since the blaze, which police fear was so devastating that some victims may never be identified. The Prime Minister also visited London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where she spent almost an hour speaking to patients and staff affected by the fire, a day after her initial visit to the scene in which she met only with emergency services crews, and not affected residents.
Mr Cundy told reporters the bodies of those have been taken to a morgue, but added that more remain in the building following the fire, and that they do not  expect to find any survivors. Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom was earlier confronted by an angry local man at a community centre near the site of the disaster, as she defended the Prime Minister's decision not to meet residents, insisting that she was “absolutely heartbroken” by the blaze.
Two people previously reported as missing have now been confirmed dead. Mohamad Alhajani, a 23-year old Syrian refugee, was named as the first victim of the fire on Thursday, before local artist Khadija Saye, 24, was named the following day. Local people contrasted Ms May’s response to the tragedy with that of London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was seen with his arm around the shoulders of people affected.
When asked why it was taking so long to identify the victims, Mr Cundy said he would only give figures the police are certain about, but confirmed that everyone being treated in hospitals had been identified.​ The Prime Minister was also criticised by Conservative former Cabinet minister Michael Portillo of failing to show "humanity", saying Ms May should have been prepared to face residents’ anger. Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman meanwhile said it was “not OK” for Ms May to go to the area but not meet residents.
Relatives and friends have been circulating appeals on social media in a desperate bid to locate missing loved ones, but hope has begun to wane, as anger rises over how the fire was able to cause so much devastation. Also on Friday, the Queen and the Duke of Cambridge met volunteers, local residents and community representatives while visiting Westway Sports Centre, near the charred remains of the tower block in north Kensington.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the town hall early on Friday evening demanding answers, before scores of protesters surged towards the building's entrance, apparently trying to get in. More than 70 people are believed to be unaccounted for since the blaze, which police fear was so devastating that some victims may never be identified. Mr Cundy of the Met Police told reporters the bodies of those have been taken to a morgue, but added that more remain in the building following the fire, and that they do not  expect to find any survivors.
Police said an investigation into the disaster would take weeks, but that there was nothing to suggest at this time that the fire was started deliberately. Two people previously reported as missing have now been confirmed dead. Mohamad Alhajani, a 23-year old Syrian refugee, was named as the first victim of the fire on Thursday, before local artist Khadija Saye, 24, was named the following day.
He said the building was in a "very hazardous state" and that it would take a period of time for "specialists, both from the police and from the London Fire Brigade, to fully search that building to make sure we locate and recover everybody that has sadly perished in that fire." When asked why it was taking so long to identify the victims, Mr Cundy said he would only give figures the police are certain about, but confirmed that everyone being treated in hospitals had been identified.​
An investigation led by a senior detective from Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command is under way with calls for “corporate manslaughter” arrests to be made. Relatives and friends have been circulating appeals on social media since Wednesday in a desperate bid to locate missing loved ones, but hope has begun to wane, and anger has been rising over how the fire was able to cause so much devastation.
Mr Cundy vowed police “will get to the answer of what has happened and why”, adding: “If criminal offences have been committed it is us who will investigate that.” Hundreds of people gathered outside the town hall early on Friday evening demanding answers, before scores of protesters surged towards the building's entrance, apparently trying to get in. Demonstrators chanted “justice” as they burst into the building, carrying a list of demands they said authorities must meet.
Police later arrived at the town hall, including a number of mounted officers, prompting a chorus of booing from those gathered. Other large protests later emerged in other parts of London, including on Kensington High Street and Downing Street.  
Police said an investigation into the disaster would take weeks, but that there was nothing to suggest at this time that the fire was started deliberately.
Mr Cundy said the building was in a "very hazardous state" and that it would take a period of time for "specialists, both from the police and from the London Fire Brigade, to fully search that building to make sure we locate and recover everybody that has sadly perished in that fire."
Ms May later announced that victims of the disaster would be asked how the public inquiry into the fire should be carried out, and that families of those who died would be given state funding for legal representation at the probe.
An investigation led by a senior detective from Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command is under way with calls for “corporate manslaughter” arrests to be made. Mr Cundy vowed that police “will get to the answer of what has happened and why”, adding: “If criminal offences have been committed it is us who will investigate that.”