Latest news with #Grenfell
ITV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Campaigners raise concerns over delays to the Hillsborough Law
ITV Granada's political correspondent Lise McNally looks into concerns surrounding the Hillsborough Law. Campaigners fear the proposed Hillsborough Law aimed at combatting establishment cover-ups is in danger of being watered Government promised to pass the law before the latest anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster in April but there is still no sign of it coming before Parliament. Those who support the Bill say it is about much more than the legacy of Hillsborough - they say it's to protect all victims of avoidable harm, like the Infected Blood and Post Office scandals, Grenfell and grooming gangs. Campaigners say to be a true legacy for the '97, the Hillsborough law must contain three basic principles, to protect the public if they're caught up in any disasters where the state could try to cover up its mistakes. Duty of Candour - This would compel public bodies and their employees to tell the truth in any inquiry and actively provide evidence and assistance. Criminal Sanctions - Those found to have lied about wrongdoing must face criminal sanctions. Parity of Funding - Bereaved families should be given parity of funding, so they can afford the same quality of lawyers as the public authorities they need to challenge. It is believed that how these could work in practice have caused disagreements and delays in Whitehall. The MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne fears the Hillsborough Law will be watered down. The MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne was at Hillsborough on the day of the disaster. He is very worried that when the law finally does appear - it won't go far enough. "It's going to be a piece of legislation which changes the culture of cover ups and changes the very fabric within this country. "We cannot allow a continuation of the betrayal of the Hillsborough families and survivors in my city, if this isn't delivered." Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall told the Prime Minister to "do the right thing." Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall lost her son James in the disaster, she says any watering down of the law would be a disgrace. "We had to go campaigning to raise funds as well, trying to get over your loss. "You'll never get over that. We can't bring them back. "But to deal with the media, to campaign for funding, to beg for the release of all documentation, and not get it. We had all that to face. "Do I want other people, the ordinary people to face that ever again? No. Things have got to change. "So if we can do anything to change that system, my jobs is done. That is my job completely finished. "I thought it was finished at the second inquest, if we got accountability, never realised, my job is still not done. "And I've told Mr Starmer, it won't be done and I will never rest in peace until we have Hillsborough in all its entirety, for the good of this nation." Today the Deputy Prime Minister claimed the government 'remains fully committed' to introducing a Hillsborough Law with work 'at pace' to get it right. During Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, Deputy PM Angela Rayner, said legislation would be brought forward 'as soon as we're confident they will deliver the justice victims deserve.' She was questioned on the delay by Anneliese Midgley, Labour MP for Knowsley. She said: ''Last Saturday marked eight years since Grenfell, eight years fighting for justice. The Hillsborough families, including Margaret Aspinall, from Huyton, have campaigned for 36 years for the Hillsborough law, decades. 'Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell me today will this Labour government bring forward the Hillsborough law without delay? Will it honour promises made to victims of state cover-ups and will it finally deliver justice for the 97?' Ms Rayner said: 'I thank my honourable friend for her question and the work with campaigners like Margaret in their fight for justice. We remain fully committed to bringing a Hillsborough Law. 'The state has failed victims and their families too many times in the past and that is precisely why our focus is on getting the legislation right. "I can assure her measures will be brought forward as soon as we're confident they will deliver the justice victims deserve and we want to do this at pace.' Until the legislation is laid down before Parliament, the legacy of the Hillsborough disaster remains up in the air.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Grenfell survivor breaks down in tears recounting agonising moment medics were forced to choose between saving the life of his wife or child - as Cat Deeley steps in to comfort him on This Morning
A Grenfell survivor broke down in tears on This Morning as he recounted the agonising moment medics were forced to choose between saving the life of his wife or unborn child. Marcio Gomes featured on Wednesday's instalment of the ITV show and sat down with journalist Peter Apps and presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard in an emotional interview. The grieving father lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and two daughters. A fire broke out in the tower block on June 14, 2017 and spread throughout the building, leading to the loss of 72 lives. Following the eight year anniversary of the tragic night, Marcio recalled what happened to his family and how his unborn son, Logan, sadly passed away as a result of the fire. 'I was woken at 1.15am in the morning with the neighbour banging on the door which I'm forever grateful because if it wasn't for that, we would've been sleeping,' Marcio recalled. The grieving father lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and two daughters Cat explained how 'the fire brigade were told the 'stay put' rule, which is essentially you stay there for 2 hours'. Marcio's family began preparing wet towels but eventually realised they needed to leave the flat and go against the fire brigade's advice. 'Probably about an hour into it I would say when I really understood how bad it was, we'd had fires in the tower before, not generally a problem,' he said. 'Of course that night it was very different,' he added. An hour into it when I tried to go into my neighbours house and I opened the door it was pitch black, the lights were on but it was pitch black. He described the 'really thick' smoke and added: 'It was awful, it was something I've never experienced before... as soon as you breathed that in you was just gagging, it was a horrific smell, it was something I can never really describe that well. 'That's when I knew it was really bad.' After multiple calls to the fire brigade, the family and neighbour decided they would have to try and make their own way down. They attempted to leave the flat twice but Marcio described the moment that made them realise they had to go. 'As I looked into the bedroom, fire came through the window and set basically the room alight. At that point I said we've got to go, it's now or never, we couldn't stay in the flat,' he said. Cat looked emotional and she said: 'There was so much confusion at the time, you couldn't see anything, you were supposed to be behind the girls and you were taking them down and then you kind of lost them within the smoke. 'When you finally get to the bottom of the tower, you see each other again, you get taken into an ambulance but your wife, who is seven months pregnant and asthmatic, they have to make a terrible decision.' Marcio broke down into tears as he replied: 'At the hospital, they came to me and said they and to make that decision because my wife was obviously alive, they had to go with her, which I said, yes, that's the choice.' Cat leant forward to comfort Marcio and kindly pat his knee as she looked tearful too. The blaze, which was the worst in Britain for more than a generation, was accelerated by deadly combustible cladding and many of those who died had been told to stay in their flats. It resulted in the deaths of 72 men, women and children, including multiple generations of the same families, living in the 120-apartment tower, built in Kensington - one of London's richest areas. The fire triggered mass protests about building standards, following months of concerns from Grenfell Tower residents about safety following its refurbishment. The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the disaster was the result of 'decades of failure' by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings. Ben read out a statement from The London Fire Brigade commission which said: 'On the night of the fire, the brigade faced the most formidable challenge that any fire service in the UK has confronted in living memory. 'In 2019 the brigade accepted every recommendation from the Grenfell Tower enquiry phase one report and have since implemented significant changes to how we operate.' Ben then went on to read a statement from Arconic which said: 'Our thoughts remain with all those affected and their families and friends. 'Arconic architectural products along with others has made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, we support all efforts to strengthen the regulatory oversight in the construction industry.' Earlier this year, Angela Rayner revealed the apartment tower would be dismantled after concerns over damage, but this has been hit with backlash. Ben also read a statement from the Government's Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and said: 'We will deliver the change needed so this can never happen again by taking decisive actions to speed up the mediation through the remediation acceleration plan and deliver the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower enquiry.' This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1 from 10am and is available to stream on ITVX.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
This Morning host fights tears as Grenfell survivor speaks on losing unborn baby
This Morning host fights tears as Grenfell survivor speaks on losing unborn baby On Wednesday's instalment of This Morning, hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley spoke to Grenfell Tower survivor Marcio Gomes. Marcio is a survivor of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which tragically killed 72 people, including 18 children. During their chat with Marcio, who lived on the 21st floor of the building, he detailed the heartbreaking death of his unborn baby. His wife had been seven months pregnant at the time of the fire, he told Cat and Ben: "At the hospital, they came to me and said-sorry." Marcio took a moment to compose himself, and Cat was shown holding back tears while he spoke. This is a breaking showbiz story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly to get the latest news, pictures and videos. Article continues below You can also get email updates on the day's biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Grenfell survivor still haunted after 'stepping on bodies on the way down'
Luana was just 12 when the fire broke out, now aged 20 she remembers her family's lucky escape in a new documentary and admits she feels guilty for the 72 who didn't make it Grenfell survivor Luana Gomes, whose brother Logan was the youngest victim of the 2017 fire after being stillborn, was a 'very bubbly' 12-year-old when the disaster struck. Now 20, she says she is still haunted by what happened and the lives that were lost. Speaking tearfully in the upcoming Netflix film Grenfell: Uncovered she admits: 'You feel guilty in a way. I feel guilty that I'm here living, doing my life, and they're not.' Luana had grown up in the council tower block, in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and never felt it needed a makeover in the form of aluminium cladding, which turned out to contain a lethal polyethylene - or plastic - core. 'I always think to myself, why did this have to happen? I felt safe in that concrete tower. I would think that they would put safety ahead of prettiness.' Recalling how she escaped from the 21st floor along with her father Marcio, pregnant mother Andreia and 10-year-old sister Megan, she said: "I just remember stepping on so many bodies to a point where I couldn't hear my dad any more behind me.' Having fallen unconscious on the way down Luana was rescued and taken to hospital where she was placed in an induced coma along with her mother and sister, suffering from cyanide fume poisoning. Andreia was seven months pregnant with unborn Logan, who was stillborn as a result of the fire. In the documentary, which launches on Friday, new evidence is unearthed which suggests the president of the US company that made the cladding knew it was dangerous two years before the fire that claimed 72 lives. Arconic executive Diana Perreiah was warned by French colleagues - who sold the product to the UK - that the type of flammable cladding chosen for cost-cutting reasons on Grenfell was not suitable over 12 metres and caused excess smoke and 'flaming droplets'. In 2015 Perreiah had asked for details of cladding types and their burn times during negotiations for the Grenfell contract but failed to stop the deal, despite the clear warning. This new information comes after the public inquiry found that Arconic had "deliberately and dishonestly" concealed 2005 test data that showed its cladding burnt in "an extremely dangerous way" and had issued safety statements which "it knew to be false'. Arconic's statement issued to the Netflix film-makers, Rogan Productions, is that the product was 'safe to use as a building material and permissible to sell in the UK'. It also insisted that Arconic's French subsidiary AAP 'did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customers or the public'. Grenfell Tower was 67 metres tall. Its 129 homes were covered in PE cladding towards the end of 2015 with the panels later found to be the main cause for the rapid spread of the fire that killed 72 people, including 18 children, on June 14, 2017. The documentary highlights that using the fire retardant version of the panels would have cost around £2 per square metre more, which works out at around £40 per flat, or £5,000. Grenfell survivor Eddie Daffarn, told The Sunday Times: "It is bad enough to know that they knew about the danger this product posed to tall buildings, but to learn that they specifically knew it was sold for use on Grenfell Tower and did nothing to stop it just proves what a callous and uncaring company they are, and how they simply put profit above human lives."
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bereaved and survivors call for justice on eighth anniversary of devastating Grenfell fire that killed 72 people ahead of tower block being pulled down
Grenfell bereaved and survivors shouted for justice in what is likely to be the final anniversary in the shadow of the tower before it is pulled down. The Government announced earlier this year that the remains of the 23-storey building will be demolished. It is thought the earliest that process will start is September and it is expected to take around two years. The Met Police investigation into what led to the 'avoidable' tragedy in 2017 which claimed the lives of 72 people – 18 of whom were children - remains ongoing. Many families and survivors believe the tower should not be removed until there are criminal prosecutions, although some local residents say they find it difficult to see every day. Hundreds walked in silence through west London on Saturday evening before hearing the names of the dead and speeches by campaigners, as the tower overlooked them. Vice chairman of Grenfell United, Karim Mussilhy, who lost his uncle in the blaze, told the crowd: 'Eight years have passed, eight years since the fire - lit by negligence, greed and institutional failure - tore through our homes, our families and our hearts. 'And still no justice has come. The truth is, there's almost nothing new to say because nothing has changed. 'As we stand here eight years on, the only decision this Government has made is to tear down the tower - our home.' The crowd shouted 'shame' and Mr Mussilhy continued: 'Not because justice has been delivered, but despite the fact it hasn't - before a single person has been held accountable, to make what happened disappear. 'The tower has stood not just as a reminder of what happened, but of what must change - a symbol and a truth in the face of denial, of dignity in the face of power, of our resistance, of our 72 loved ones who can't fight for their own justice. 'And now they want it gone, out of sight out of mind, a clear skyline and a forgotten scandal.' The crowd faced the tower and chanted: 'Justice, justice.' At the close of the speeches people filed in through the gates, which are rarely opened, and paid their respects at the base of the tower. Attendees held each other and children wrote tributes on electric candles that were left on a podium between the flowers. What remains of the tower has stood in place in the years since the disaster, with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart accompanied by the words 'forever in our hearts'. Grenfell survivors and their supporters take part in the annual silent walk on June 14, 2025 The 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 are pictured as follows - (top row left to right) Mohammad Al-Haj Ali, Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, also known as Khadija Saye, Anthony Disson, Khadija Khalloufi, Mary Mendy, Isaac Paulos, Sheila, Gloria Trevisan, Marco Gottardi, (second row left to right) Berkti Haftom, Ali Yarwar Jafari, Majorie Vital, Yahya Hashim, Hamid Kani, Jessica Urbano Ramirez, Zainab Deen, Nura Jemal, Jeremiah Deen, (third row left to right) Yasin El-Wahabi, Firdaws Hashim, Hashim Kedir, Debbie Lamprell, Ernie Vital, Sakina Afrasehabi, Denis Mur-phy, Raymond 'Moses' Bernard, Biruk Haftom, (fouth row left to right) Yaqub Hashim, Mehdi El-Wahabi, Ligaya Moore, Nur Huda El-Wahabi, Victoria King, Mo-hammed Amied Neda, Maria del Pilar Burton, Hesham Rahman, Gary Maunders, (fifth row left to right) Alexandra Atala, Vincent Chiejina, Steve Power, Rania Ibrahim, Fethia Hassan, Hania Hassan, Fathia Ahmed Elsanousi, Abufras Ibrahim (silhouette), Isra Ibrahim (silhouette), (sixth row left to right) Mariem Elgwahry, Eslah Elgwahry (sil-houette), Mohamednur Tuccu, Amal Ahmedin, Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin, Amna Mahmud Idris, Abdeslam Sebbar (silhouette) , Joseph Daniels (silhouette), Logan Gomes, (seventh row left to right) Omar Belkadi, Farah Hamdan, Malak Belkadi (sil-houette), Leena Belkadi (silhouette), Abdulaziz El-Wahabi, Faouzia El-Wahabi, Fatemeh Afrasiabi, Kamru Miah, Rabeya Begum, (eighth row left to right) Mohammed Hamid, Mohammed Hanif, Husna Begum, Bassem Choukair, Nadia Choucair, Mierna Choucair, Fatima Choucair, Zainab Choucair and Sirria Choucair Some campaigners pose for a selfie during the silent march on Saturday The final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, published in September, concluded victims, bereaved and survivors were 'badly failed' through incompetence, dishonesty and greed. The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the 'systematic dishonesty' of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said. It was Britain's worst residential fire since World War II. News of the Government's demolition decision earlier this year was met with criticism from some bereaved and survivors of the 2017 fire who expressed their upset and shock, saying they felt they had not had their views considered before the decision was taken. Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner later said in an interview that she knew the meeting with those most closely affected was going to be 'really difficult' and that there was 'not a consensus' among everyone over what should happen to the tower. On Saturday, placards read 'this much evidence still no charges' and 'Tories have blood on their hands. Justice for Grenfell'. Large green papier-mache hearts were held aloft, with words including 'hope', 'integrity', 'enough is enough' and 'justice' written across. Around a dozen fire fighters stood to attention on each side of the road outside Ladbroke Grove station, facing the passing crowd with their helmets at their feet. Some members of the Grenfell community walked up to hug them and shake hands. After an hour of walking in silence the crowd gathered for the speeches outside Notting Hill Methodist Church. The Government confirmed in February that engineering advice is that the tower 'is significantly damaged' and will get worse with time. Separately, the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower, with recommendations including a 'sacred space', designed to be a 'peaceful place for remembering and reflecting'. It is expected a planning application for a memorial could be submitted in late 2026. According to the Government's latest figures, published last month, there were 5,052 residential buildings in England which are 11 metres or taller identified as having unsafe cladding as of the end of April. Fewer than half - 2,477 buildings or 49 per cent - had either started or completed remediation works, with just a third - 1,652 buildings or 33 per cent - having had remediation works finished. Labour unveiled its remediation acceleration plan last year, pledging that, by the end of 2029, all buildings more than 59ft (18 metres) tall with unsafe cladding that are on a Government scheme will have been remediated. Grenfell Tower was originally built with reinforced concrete in 1974. The refurbishment with external flammable cladding and insulation that caused the disaster was completed just a year before the fire. A structural engineer's report from December 2024 said the tower was 'stable' but it concluded the 'underlying structure will worsen over time' due to fire damage. Engineers advised it would 'not be practical to remediate all or part of the damaged structure', especially above the 10th floor.
