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London fire: May offers £5m to victims amid criticism of response London fire: May offers £5m to victims amid criticism of response
(35 minutes later)
Theresa May has announced a package of measures to help the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, including £5m of cash handouts to be distributed to residents, after the government faced growing criticism over its botched response to the disaster. Theresa May has announced a package of measures to help the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, including £5m of cash handouts to be distributed to residents, after the government received more criticism over its botched response to the disaster.
After being widely criticised for failing to meet victims face to face, the prime minister paid two visits to the scene of the deadly blaze on Friday. After being widely denounced for failing to meet victims face to face, the prime minister paid two visits to the scene of the deadly blaze on Friday. She met victims at a nearby hospital before returning to Downing Street to chair a two-hour crisis meeting of cabinet ministers – including the home secretary, Amber Rudd, and the communities secretary, Sajid Javid – to agree what action should be taken.
She met victims at a nearby hospital, before returning to Downing Street to chair a two-hour crisis-meeting of cabinet ministers, including the home secretary, Amber Rudd, and the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, to agree what action should be taken.
May then returned to the area, where families affected by the blaze were gathered in a church to speak to her. Speaking after her visit, May said: “The individual stories I heard this morning at Chelsea and Westminster hospital were horrific. I spoke with people who ran from the fire in only the clothes they were wearing.May then returned to the area, where families affected by the blaze were gathered in a church to speak to her. Speaking after her visit, May said: “The individual stories I heard this morning at Chelsea and Westminster hospital were horrific. I spoke with people who ran from the fire in only the clothes they were wearing.
“They have been left with nothing – no bank cards, no money, no means of caring for their children or relatives. One woman told me she had escaped in only her top and underwear.”“They have been left with nothing – no bank cards, no money, no means of caring for their children or relatives. One woman told me she had escaped in only her top and underwear.”
The £5m fund will be distributed by the local council to help affected families pay for anything they need, including funeral costs. May said it would give victims “immediate support they need to care for themselves and for loved ones” and said support measures would be constantly reviewed to see what more was needed. The £5m fund will be distributed by the local council to help affected families pay for anything they need, including funeral costs. May said it would give victims the “immediate support they need to care for themselves and for loved ones” and said support measures would be constantly reviewed to see what more was needed.
“Everyone affected by this tragedy needs reassurance that the government is there for them at this terrible time – and that is what I am determined to provide,” she said.“Everyone affected by this tragedy needs reassurance that the government is there for them at this terrible time – and that is what I am determined to provide,” she said.
In a statement, Downing Street pledged that all residents displaced by the fire would be rehoused locally within three weeks and close enough to their former homes for childrento attend the same school. In a statement, Downing Street pledged that all residents displaced by the fire would be rehoused locally within three weeks and close enough to their former homes that children could attend the same school.
Until people are rehoused, the cost of temporary accommodation will be met on their behalf and families will get financial assistance to ensure they do not incur any extra costs in travelling to their school. Until people are rehoused, the government will meet the cost of their temporary accommodation, and families will get financial assistance to ensure that they do not incur any extra costs in travelling to their school.
When the public inquiry into the tragedy gets under way, May said local people would be consulted and would also be given free legal representation so their concerns could be aired. When the public inquiry into the tragedy gets under way, May said local people would be consulted and would be given free legal representation so their concerns could be aired.
Downing Street said the Treasury would work with banks to ensure that those who lost bank cards still had access to their accounts. Those claiming welfare will be able attend local job centres to ensure they still have access to benefits and pensions they would normally receive. Downing Street said the Treasury would work with banks to ensure that those who lost bank cards still had access to their accounts. Those claiming welfare will be able attend local jobcentres to guarantee continued access to the benefits and pensions they would normally receive.
No 10 said the government also wanted to reassure people living in similar blocks that they were not also in danger and said they were “checking at speed with local authorities whether all high-rise buildings in their area have complied with recent fire orders, where work has been deemed required following an inspection”. A fire-safety review of all buildings similar to Grenfell Tower will also take place.No 10 said the government also wanted to reassure people living in similar blocks that they were not also in danger and said they were “checking at speed with local authorities whether all high-rise buildings in their area have complied with recent fire orders, where work has been deemed required following an inspection”. A fire-safety review of all buildings similar to Grenfell Tower will also take place.
Friday’s two-hour cabinet committee meeting represented an escalation, after the government had initially relied on junior ministers to tackle the consequences of the fire, categorising it as a “civil contingency”.
When concerned MPs, including the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, gathered in a committee room to grill the government about its response to the crisis on Thursday, May sent two junior ministers who had only taken their jobs in this week’s reshuffle – Nick Hurd and Alok Sharma.
The prime minister was challenged by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, over the government’s tardy response on Friday. With the death toll rising, Khan, who held a series of highly charged meetings with residents and community leaders, wrote to the prime minister saying he understood the local community’s growing anger. “I spent several hours yesterday talking to local residents around Grenfell Tower. These were difficult conversations with a tight-knit community that is understandably distraught, frustrated and increasingly angry.
“They feel the government and local council haven’t done enough to help them in the aftermath of this horrific incident, or to provide answers to their increasingly urgent questions,” Khan said.
He called for the government to act immediately on its promise to rehouse local people; to promise that the first findings from the public inquiry into the blaze would be published by the summer; and to give a timetable for testing the safety of similar high-rise blocks.
“Some residents are still sleeping in the Westway sports centre or with family and friends. Please confirm as a matter of urgency that everyone from Grenfell Tower and other evacuated properties will be rehoused locally immediately,” he urged May.
Government sources blamed security concerns for the fact that May did not meet residents directly on Thursday. She instead conferred with firefighters before returning to Downing Street to announce a public inquiry into the blaze.
Several senior ministers, including Javid and the leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, were dispatched to the scene on Friday to underline the government’s determination to meet the needs of affected residents. But Leadsom was heckled by local people asking why the prime minister hadn’t come to hear about the impact of the blaze for herself.
As Leadsom was interviewed on Sky News, one man asked: “Sadiq Khan, Corbyn, have come down here, not with all these bodyguards and police, they’ve come down here and spoke to people, and actually, down to the level. Why is Theresa May coming down here, with a load of police, not meeting anyone?”
Leadsom said she had come to represent MPs, and ministers would be doing everything they could in the aftermath of the blaze. “Various ministers have been, and I think a number have come here more privately, to try and talk to people, and try and give practical support,” she said.
May seemed slow to respond to the tragedy at times, and some Conservative MPs have been frustrated at what one described as a “complete lack of empathy”.
Separately, Boris Johnson, Khan’s predecessor as London’s mayor, hit back against claims, made by Labour MPs including Ilford North’s Wes Streeting, that fire service cuts contributed to problems when tackling the blaze. “It is outrageous of Labour to suggest that the response of the fire brigade was in any way inadequate. They acted like heroes. No one is seriously claiming that they could have done more. Wes Streeting should be ashamed.”
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, called for the government to relax borrowing limits for local councils to allow them to raise funds to pay for tower blocks to be fitted with safety measures such as sprinklers.
“The tragic fire that occurred on Grenfell Tower must never be allowed to happen again. The lessons of Camberwell, Shepherd’s Bush and Southampton have not been learned, and it is the responsibility of government to provide solutions.
“The government must now as a matter of urgency lift the housing revenue account borrowing cap to free councils to undertake the urgent retrofitting work required on all existing housing stock found not to meet required safety standards.”