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Grenfell Tower Fire Aftermath: 17 June 2017
Topic Started: Jun 17 2017, 10:09 AM (85 Views)
Webster
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(The Guardian) The Queen says UK is determined to 'rebuild lives'
--The Queen has released a statement on her official birthday, saying the day is “traditionally a day of celebration” but “this year, however, it is difficult to escape a very sombre national mood.” She said: “In recent months, the country has witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies. As a nation, we continue to reflect and pray for all those who have been directly affected by these events.

“During recent visits in Manchester and London, I have been profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need.”

The monarch visited the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital following the Manchester Arena attack in which 22 people were killed following an Ariana Grande concert.

She added: “Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity. United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favour, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss.”
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--A message from The Queen on Her Majesty's Official Birthday. (The Royal Family of the United Kingdom & Northern Ireland, 17 June 2017)
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(The Guardian) Protest Postponed
--The Grenfell Action Group and Radical Housing Network have postponed a protest planned to take place today at Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall. The event, which called on estate campaigners, community groups and tenants from across London to demand Justice4Grenfell, was due to take place at midday.

The Radical Housing Network said on Facebook it had been cancelled “in light of the rapidly moving situation and community protests at the Town Hall and Grenfell Tower on evening of Friday 17th” but promised “more actions and protests”.
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(The Guardian) Donations reach £3m
--The Press Association reports that more than £3m has been raised for victims of the fire.

Three appeals on the JustGiving site helped to raise the money for people affected by the fire.

The London Evening Standard launched an appeal on a dedicated website dispossessedfund.org.uk, raising nearly £1.5m by Saturday morning.

An appeal on JustGiving launched by Kensington Aldridge Academy teacher Hayley Yearwood has generated £1,206,880.

The Year 8 director of learning said: “As I watched the news at 5 o’clock in the morning, I just wanted to make sure residents affected were well cared for after the tragedy. Our school is in the heart of a fantastic community. The response so far has been overwhelming as money continues pouring in.”

Another, set up by Karolina Hanusova has raised £388,242.

The three appeals had more than 66,000 supporters between them, with supporters leaving messages including: “My heart goes out to all those that had to gone through this” and” “A terrible tragedy. My heart cries for all those lives lost”.
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(The Guardian) Firefighters tell of 'hellish' experience
--A firefighter who climbed to the 15th floor as the Grenfell Tower was burned has spoken about how he feared the block would collapse like the World Trade Centre.

Leon Whitley, 34, was among the dozens to run towards danger when the blaze broke out at the 24-storey tower in west London. Mr Whitley, a father-of-one, told The Sun: “It was reminiscent of the Twin Towers. Those things go through your mind while you’re in there.

“We all know how that building collapsed. I thought, ‘We might not make it out this one’. I usually walk into fires very cautious but not scared. That was the first time I was scared.”

He described the experience as “hellish” and added he still hears the screams from people trapped as flames tore through the building. He told the paper: “It was crazy. The screams were coming from all directions. I don’t think I will ever forget them.

“The screams were horrifying because you knew everyone needed help but you couldn’t see them.”

Damian Magee, crew manager at Whitechapel Fire Station, told Sky News: “We were hoping it was a building site, a new-build that was going up, because we couldn’t believe what we were seeing and we were miles and miles away.

“We heard the children screaming, I can remember one kid’s voice that was sticking out, higher pitched than all the others. Screaming, screaming for help. They probably had some sort of hope when they saw us firefighters down there, for us to get in and help them.”
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(The Guardian) In a sign that more political pressure is mounting on Theresa May, the leader column in The Telegraph has spoken of the Government being “drifting, rudderless”.

It says: “All of this represents a huge challenge for any Government in normal circumstances; but when it has no majority and no certainty of staying in office it is infinitely more problematic.

“Theresa May has announced a public inquiry but that could take months to set up; an interim report is essential to establish the basic facts so that people living in similar accommodation can sleep without the fear that the same could happen to them.

“Furthermore, a sense that someone is getting a grip on this disaster and all of its ramifications is a paramount necessity; and yet the local council’s response has been woeful while the Government seems to be drifting, rudderless, stunned by the election result and overwhelmed by the magnitude of all the other tasks it faces, not least the Brexit talks that begin on Monday.”
-Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/16/theresa-mays-cold-insensitive-reaction-grenfell-disaster-puts/
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(The Guardian) David Gauke hopes the government can 'build trust'
--Work and pensions secretary David Gauke said he hoped the government can “build trust” with the victims of the fire by getting to the bottom of what happened.

He told the BBC: “I hope if there is an issue on trust that by the work that we undertake that we demonstrate both a determination to help the victims, but also demonstrate our determination to get to the bottom of what really happened and to respond to the truth, and that’s how I hope we can build trust with the people of Grenfell Tower.”
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(The Guardian) Summary - 3:28am
--The official death toll stands at 30 but there are thought to be about 70 people still missing after the tower block blaze. Police said on Friday that the number of deaths was expected to rise as emergency services continue to search the building.
The Queen has issued an unprecedented birthday message acknowledging the “very sombre national mood”. Speaking a day after a visiting people affected by the fire, she said the UK had “witnessed a succession of terrible tragedies” in recent weeks.
--The prime minister has continued to be dogged by claims that she has failed to recognise the public mood in the wake of the incident. In an interview with BBC’s Newsnight, Theresa May repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether her emotional response to Grenfell was lacking. She was heckled by protesters as she left a church near the scene in Kensington on Friday, and faced intense pressure for failing to visit victims.
--Demonstrations were held at Kensington town hall and in central London on Friday evening. Protesters demanded more information on missing families and friends and more help from the authorities. One group tried to force their way into the council building to confront officials.
--The government announced a series of measures in an attempt to regain control of the growing crisis, including a £5m discretionary fund to feed, clothe and house those made homeless by the fire. Work and pensions secretary David Gauke said he hoped the government can “build trust” with the victims of the fire by getting to the bottom of what happened.
--As investigators begin the painstaking work of establishing how the fire started and spread, experts called for a ban on combustable materials in high-rise buildings. Contractors told the Guardian that panels used to clad Grenfell Tower were the cheaper, more flammable version of two available options.
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(The Guardian) Newspapers have been damning about Theresa May’s response to the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, according to these excerpts from this morning’s papers collected for us by the Press Association.

--Felicity Morse in the i wrote that the fire – and the response to it – will be a “defining moment” for May, who visited the site for the second time on Friday.

She said: “Theresa May’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire has revealed new lows in her style of leadership. That long lens picture of her, removed from the community, will damn her. And her refusal to answer questions about why she didn’t meet residents condemned her further. If this is Mrs May’s best, at a time of tragedy, it’s just not good enough.”

--Matthew Parris in the Times wrote of the PM being the victim of a “misjudgement” in the aftermath of the fire. He said: “Of course she felt for those poor victims, just as we all do. But she hates stunts and fears unscripted situations. What if she was heckled by angry residents?”

The leader column in the Telegraph spoke of the government being “drifting, rudderless”. It said: “All of this represents a huge challenge for any government in normal circumstances; but when it has no majority and no certainty of staying in office it is infinitely more problematic.

“Theresa May has announced a public inquiry but that could take months to set up; an interim report is essential to establish the basic facts so that people living in similar accommodation can sleep without the fear that the same could happen to them.

“Furthermore, a sense that someone is getting a grip on this disaster and all of its ramifications is a paramount necessity; and yet the local council’s response has been woeful while the government seems to be drifting, rudderless, stunned by the election result and overwhelmed by the magnitude of all the other tasks it faces, not least the Brexit talks that begin on Monday.”

--The Mirror’s leader column said the survivors “have a right to be furious”.

“People who were catastrophically ignored – their warnings about the flats seemingly brushed aside – deserve to be heard and their incredibly reasonable requests met,” it said.

“The Queen and Prince William meeting families exposed the security lie behind excuses for Theresa May avoiding victims. And the PM’s subsequent hospital visit will do nothing to restore vanishing public confidence in her ability to lead.”
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(The Guardian) May's first minister pledges new taskforce
--Theresa May’s most senior minister has defended the way she has handled the disaster as he promised a government-led taskforce would be deployed to the scene today.

The first secretary of state, Damian Green – who was appointed in the reshuffle after the Tories’ disastrous election result – said some criticisms of May had been “terribly unfair”. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “She’s distraught by what happened as we all are. Absolutely, she has the same degree of sympathy and horror at these events that we all have.”

He said the taskforce would be made up of representatives of the council and central government and would be on the ground today “to answer questions”.

Green added that the government expected to appoint a chairman to lead the public inquiry “in days rather than weeks”. “We want it to be able to have interim reports as well,” he added. “So this is not going to be one of those exercises of using a public inquiry to delay a response. Actually, we want the response to be as fast as possible.”

Green said the inquiry would look at whether sprinklers should be retrofitted to tower blocks and the government would “follow the recommendations of the public inquiry”.
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(The Guardian) A GP whose surgery is less than 800 metres from Grenfell Tower has written a blog post for the British Medical Journal about his experiences on Wednesday. Ahmed Kazmi said several of his patients were residents of the tower. He wrote:

Wednesday was a tragic day for many and a very atypical day in our surgery. We spent it trying to compile a list of our patients who had been dispossessed. We made comfort calls to those affected [especially the vulnerable ones], offered walk-in appointments for those who found themselves without medication, and tried to offer some comfort. It is difficult though; what do you say to someone who has just lost their home and every possession they own? ‘I am so sorry for what has happened to you, here is your insulin prescription.’

Kazmi went down to help at the rescue and relief centres, but found them already “very well-staffed” with doctors and nurses who had volunteered. I sat down on the floor and played with some children. I didn’t use my stethoscope those hours I was at the centre, but I still feel I was a doctor. I think that sometimes empathy and witnessing someone’s grief are as important a part of our role as procedures or prescribing.
-Read more: http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/06/16/ahmed-kazmi-a-gps-experiences-of-the-grenfell-tower-fire/
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(The Guardian) NHS issues casualty update
--NHS England has issued an update on the injured still receiving hospital treatment after Wednesday’s fire.

They said there are now 19 patients in four London hospitals receiving care, of which 10 are critical. More than 70 people had been taken to hospital after the disaster.
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(The Guardian) A protest outside Kensington town hall at midday has been postponed, its organisers have said.

On the Facebook page for the demonstration, which would have followed another large protest last night, the Radical Housing Network wrote:

In light of the rapidly moving situation and community protests at the Town Hall and Grenfell Tower on evening of Friday 17th, Grenfell Action Group and Radical Housing Network are postponing the protest planned for Saturday 18th. There will be more actions and protests, so we’re leaving this event open so we can update and respond to developments.

Just over 500 people had indicated that they would attend. However, numbers may have been much larger if details of the event were also being spread via instant messaging, as were details of last night’s town hall protest.
-Read more: https://www.facebook.com/events/114542675817274
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(The Guardian) Damian Green’s announcement this morning of a new taskforce that would be deployed to the scene appears to be unravelling. A spokeswoman for Green’s office said that in fact it appeared to be a conflation of two different measures first announced by No 10 yesterday.

She said the Grenfell Tower taskforce was a high-level group chaired by Theresa May, which included representatives of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education, the Department of Health, the Treasury and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The taskforce first met on Friday, when it agreed the package of measures for those affected that was later announced by May. The group was due to meet again today, the Cabinet Office spokeswoman said, although she could not say what was on the agenda.

There is also a team on the ground to provide help to people affected by the fire. However, the Cabinet Office spokeswoman could not say what the nature of this help would be, other than to provide hotline numbers for people worried about missing loved ones, housing and benefits. She said she would get back to the Guardian to explain what other means of help the team would provide.

She was clear that the team on the ground would not be responsible for coordinating relief efforts, despite continuing complaints from volunteers at relief centres that there has been no local crisis response framework.
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(The Guardian) May to meet victims at Downing Street
--The prime minister has arrived in Downing Street, where she is chairing the government task force on the disaster before meeting victims and volunteers in No 10 afterwards.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is this morning chairing a cross Government meeting to ensure everything possible is being done to support those affected by the Grenfell tragedy. Afterwards, she will meet a group of residents, victims, volunteers and community leaders in No10. The PM has sent her best wishes to HM Queen on the event of her birthday.”
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