The British government, through UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has recently tendered an apology to the families that lost their loved ones, homes, and properties during the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 that went on for 72 lives. The apology followed the presentation of a public inquiry report which condemned the government for their negligence to the residents.
Addressing Parliament, Starmer expressed his deep regret: “Allow me first of all to say sorry on behalf of the British state to each one of you, and in fact all the families who have been touched by this kind of tragedy,” he said, in reference to the inquiry recommendations. “It should never have happened. The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty: It is to protect you and your families, the people that we are here to serve, and I am very sorry for this.
This fire which initiated from a 23-storey social housing block in one of London’s richest areas, Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 remains one of the worst residential fire disasters within the UK since World War II. The last 1,700 page report of the inquiry identified the government, construction industry and companies for incorporating the flammable cladding as the main culprits behind the disaster. All these entities were attributed a lot of blame for promoting flammable cladding as safe, as well as the local and national government was condemned for negligence.
Many survivors and victims’ families have sought legal justice and prosecution of the offenders. British police have said that 58 people and 19 companies are currently under probe.
An earlier inquiry report in 2019 said that fire started from an electrical short circuit in a refrigerator and with the polyethylene core used in the cladding that was installed in the building during the refurbishment in 2016. Currently, more than 3,280 buildings in Britain with unsafe cladding still exist, and work on most of them has not started.
