British prime minister Theresa May apologised on Wednesday for the state’s failure to support those people who survived last week’s massive London tower block fire, as the government secured its first tranche of new homes for residents displaced by the blaze.
The British government said it had obtained dozens of newly-built apartments in a west London development, a first step towards fulfilling a pledge to rehouse residents of Grenfell Tower, which was gutted in a deadly fire.
Ms May took responsibility for shortcomings in the response to the fire, and pledged that victims would receive more support.
“The support on the ground for families in the initial hours was not good enough . . . That was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most,” she told parliament on Wednesday.
“As prime minister, I apologise for that failure, and as prime minister, I’ve taken responsibility for doing what we can to put things right.”
Ms May added that those who had lost their homes would receive a downpayment from an emergency fund, and repeated a promise to rehouse all victims within three weeks.
The first funeral for one of the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster was also held on Wednesday, in a packed ceremony attended by relatives who had flown in from Syria and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali (23) was studying civil engineering at the University of West London and lived on the 14th floor of the block.
His brother Omar (25) managed to escape from the fire.
Their parents, two sisters and several other relatives were able to secure visas allowing them to travel from Syria to attend the ceremony at an east London mosque after an emergency intervention from the Home Office, in response to a public petition signed by more than 85,000 people.
A married couple have also been named as the latest victims of the disaster, as inquests were opened on Wednesday into the deaths of five people killed in the fire.
Omar Belkadi (32) died from inhaling fire fumes, while his wife, Farah Hamdan (31), was killed by smoke inhalation, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
Abufars Ibrahim (39) died of multiple injuries, while Anthony Disson (65) and Khadija Khalloufi (52) both died from inhalation of fire fumes, the court was told.
Dr Fiona Wilcox, the senior coroner for Westminster, looked tearful at one point during the hearing as she opened and adjourned the inquests.
A report in The Guardian also found that Grenfell Tower renovation works were inspected 16 times by Kensington and Chelsea council during refurbishment of the tower between 2014 and 2016, but these inspections appear not to have spotted that the building was being clad in a material banned for use on tall buildings.
The council told The Guardian that the first inspection took place on August 29th, 2014, and the last was on July 7th, 2016, at which point a completion certificate was issued.
It added that building inspectors working for the council undertook the work.
Luxury complex
The 68 apartments acquired by the government are in a luxury apartment complex where prices start at £1.6 million (€1.8 million).
Families who escaped the blaze will be able to take up permanent occupation in July and August in the apartments in the Kensington Row scheme, which is about 2.4km south of Grenfell.
Last Wednesday’s blaze left 79 people dead or missing and presumed dead.
The apartments in the Kensington Row complex have been purchased by the Corporation of London and will become part of its social housing stock.
The most luxurious four-bedroom apartments in the development are currently on sale for £8.5 million.
The homes being released to Grenfell residents are being built as part of the complex’s affordable housing quota and feature a more “straightforward” internal specification, but have the same build quality.
The complex includes a 24-hour concierge, swimming pool, spa and private cinema.
It is not yet clear if the Grenfell residents will have access to those facilities, which are normally not available for those in affordable housing.
“We’ve got to start by finding each of them a home,” said Tony Pidgley, chairman of the Berkeley Group, which is building the homes.
“Somewhere safe and supportive, close to their friends and the places they know, so they can start to rebuild their lives. We will work night and day to get these homes ready.”
The move follows calls by British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for luxury homes in the area to be requisitioned to house the Grenfell families.
Last week he said: “Kensington is a tale of two cities. The south part of Kensington is incredibly wealthy, it’s the wealthiest part of the whole country.
“The ward where this fire took place is, I think, the poorest ward in the whole country and properties must be found - requisitioned if necessary - to make sure those residents do get rehoused locally.”
Alex Jeffrey, chief executive of M&G Real Estate, which manages the property interests of the housing development’s co-investor Prudential, said: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the Grenfell Tower fire and are obviously relieved that we can help in some small way by providing homes of high quality within the borough to some of the families who have been affected.”
The homes will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments across two blocks.
The department for communities and local government said it had provided “additional funding to fit out the flats to ensure they are ready for people to move in to sooner”.
Extra construction staff have been committed by the developer and working-hour restrictions will be relaxed to speed the completion of the apartments. Each home will be fully furnished, according to the department.
The British government had previously committed to finding suitable accommodation in the local area for victims who lost their homes in the fire within a maximum of three weeks.
“The residents of Grenfell Tower have been through some of the most harrowing and traumatic experiences imaginable and it is our duty to support them,” said Sajid Javid, the communities secretary.
“Our priority is to get everyone who has lost their home permanently rehoused locally as soon as possible, so that they can begin to rebuild their lives.
“The government will continue to do everything we can as fast as we can to support those affected by this terrible tragedy.”
One hundred and forty hotel placements have been made for people who lived in Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk, according to the official Grenfell response team.
“Work is now taking place to assess the housing needs of all Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk families to identify longer-term accommodation in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and neighbouring borough,” a spokesperson said. “So far 110 assessments have been completed.”
Reuters, Guardian service and PA