The bereaved relatives of Grenfell victims today demanded ‘nothing less’ than manslaughter charges against those responsible for the deadly inferno.
The families of 34 of the 72 victims called with one voice to stop the ‘perpetrators literally getting away with murder’ at a press conference in Central London.
Organised by campaign group Grenfell Next of Kin, families also hit out at the inquiry itself, saying they all ‘knew from the beginning’ who was responsible for the fire so struggled to see what the inquiry had achieved, except delaying possible prosecutions.
The Metropolitan Police will now examine the inquiry’s conclusions and produce an evidential file. This will then be passed onto the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), with no decisions on any prosecutions, which could include corporate or individual manslaughter, expected before late 2026.
It comes after a damning report today found Grenfell was turned into a deathtrap which claimed 72 lives due to ‘serious deficiencies’ in building standards, ‘dishonest’ manufacturers and a local authority with an ‘indifference’ to fire safety.
Almost every organisation involved in the refurbishment and management of the 24-storey, 120-apartment block in Kensington, west London , was found to shoulder some responsibility for the ‘decades of failure’ which contributed to the tragedy on June 14, 2017.
‘Unscrupulous’ manufacturers involved in the renovation of the 67-metre-tall tower a year earlier – including covering it in highly combustible cladding – were admonished for ‘systematic dishonesty’ and for ‘misleading customers’.
Architects demonstrated a ‘cavalier attitude’ to fire and safety regulations, while contractors and the cladding specialists did not properly concern themselves with the matter either.
On the day the report was released:
Today, Grenfell Next of Kin member Kimia Zabihyan told journalists that ‘behind the names and the numbers and the reports are real families and real human faces that have been impacted by this in a way that you cannot imagine’.
‘Justice means manslaughter charges, not health and safety [charges], not misconduct in public office [charges]’.
‘For these families these words don’t mean anything’, she added, adding later that she had a letter signed by government ministers which wrongly claimed that the inquiry would not ‘delay the conclusion of the police inquiry’.
‘The only people who did really well out of this were the lawyers,’ she said.
Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said ‘we did not ask for this inquiry…we did not know the consequences of having an inquiry and how that would impact on our justice moving forwards’.
He added that the inquiry ‘hasn’t taught me anything…in fact its delayed the justice that my family deserves’.
He also recounted how he saw some witnesses ‘laugh’ while giving evidence as others ‘didn’t even turn up’ and companies ‘hid behind of the law’ of their country.
Overall, the inquiry was a ‘joke’ and it was designed to ‘take the heat out of the situation’ and ‘prevent social disorder on London’s streets’. He said the ‘laws are weak’ and ‘nobody is able to hold this government accountable’.
Shah Aghlani, who lost his disabled mother and aunt, said the inquiry was set up when relatives were not prepared for it.
‘An inquiry was announced on the day I was looking for my mum…in no way where we involved in the beginning [of the inquiry] or consulted’, he said.
He added that ‘if somebody wants to create a system that prevents justice you could not have created a better system than what is in place now’
He said ‘any future prosecution that is foreseeable is worth even thinking about…there is probably going to be minor charges with perpetrators literally getting away with murder which is the system we have in this country.’
‘Nothing less will do’ than manslaughter charges, he agreed.
Marion Telfer said: ‘I just want everybody else to remember this about 72 people who lost their lives…all we ask is for someone to take responsibility’.
Maria Jafari, who lost her father in the fire, called the report a ‘big bag of paper’ and noted how ‘seven years have passed, and we still have no justice’.
Earlier, Grenfell United, which represents some of the families, said Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s findings made it clear it was correct to say firms like Kingspan, Celotex and Arconic, were ‘little better than crooks and killers’.
Speaking after the report was published, Natasha Elcock, on behalf of Grenfell United, said: ‘We paid the price of systematic dishonesty, institutional indifference and neglect.’
She added: ‘Human life was never a priority, and we lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific way – from greed, corruption, incompetence and negligence.’
They restated their call for police and prosecutors to ‘ensure that those who are truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice’.
After the report was released, Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said in a statement: ‘Our thoughts remain with the bereaved families and the survivors at what must be an extremely difficult time.
‘We have been working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service throughout their investigation and will therefore be in a strong position to review the completed evidential file, which they anticipate will be passed to us in 2026.
‘Our team of specialist prosecutors will then carefully review the file but do not expect to be in a position to make any charging decisions until the end of 2026.
‘Due to the sheer volume of evidence and complexity of the investigation, we will need to take the necessary time to thoroughly evaluate the evidence before providing final charging decisions.’
Also today, bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell fire said the inquiry’s final report shows they were ‘failed by calculated dishonesty and greed’ and ‘human life was never a priority’.
Grenfell United, which represents some of the families, said Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s findings made it clear their lawyers were correct to tell the inquiry that corporate bodies, such as Kingspan, Celotex and Arconic, were ‘little better than crooks and killers’.
They criticised previous governments who they said ‘aided corporations, facilitating them to profit and dictate regulation’ and called on some of the firms involved to be banned from government contracts. In a direct message to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer , they said the country had been ‘failed’ and called for recommendations to be implemented without further delay.
In response, Sir Keir said the Government would write to all companies found by the inquiry to be part of the ‘horrific failings’ at Grenfell ‘as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts’. He also said those affected by the disaster were ‘let down very badly before, during and in the aftermath of the tragedy’, as he offered them an apology on behalf of the British state.
Speaking after the report was published, Natasha Elcock, on behalf of Grenfell United, said: ‘We paid the price of systematic dishonesty, institutional indifference and neglect.’
She added: ‘Human life was never a priority, and we lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific way – from greed, corruption, incompetence and negligence.’
Their statement also said that while the report is a ‘significant chapter’ in the years since the fire, ‘justice has not been delivered’ as they restated their call for police and prosecutors to ‘ensure that those who are truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice’.
Sir Martin, who today completed his 1,600-page inquiry report into failures in the build-up to the fire, said: ‘None of those involved in the design of the external wall or choice of materials acted in accordance with the standards of a reasonably competent person in their position.’
He said the fatal choice of combustible materials for the cladding of Grenfell Tower resulted ‘from a series of errors caused by the incompetence of the organisations and individuals involved in the refurbishment’.
But he also pointed the finger at industry body the British Board of Agrement (BBA), who he accused of incompetence for failing to carry out proper checks on building products used in the refurbishment before issuing compliance certificates.
Sir Martin accused successive governments of an at-times ‘complacent and defensive’ attitude to safety, while the response to the tragedy from Theresa May’s own administration and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea local council in the immediate aftermath was ‘muddled, slow, indecisive and piecemeal’.
Sir Martin said both the council – which owned the tower – and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) which ran it showed a ‘persistent indifference to fire safety’, particularly that of its many vulnerable residents.
But he reserved some of his most powerful criticism for those responsible for firms involved in the refurbishment.
The 77-year-old former Court of Appeal judge also took aim at ‘dishonest’ manufacturers, as well as local and central government, the construction industry and associated organisations.
Sir Martin said the ‘simple truth’ was that the 72 deaths were ‘all avoidable’.
He praised the local community for their response, and criticised the state for failing to properly make use of them in the aftermath of the tragedy in June 2017. It was the worst residential blaze in Britain since the Second World War.
In an address following publication of his report, Sir Martin said: ‘The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants.’
He criticised successive Governments, local council the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) who owned the tower, the tenant management organisation (TMO) who managed Grenfell, and those who manufactured and supplied the materials used in the refurbishment.
He also hit out at those who certified their suitability for use on high-rise residential buildings, the architect, contractors and some of its subcontractors.
He said: ‘Not all of them bear the same degree of responsibility for the eventual disaster, but, as our reports show, all contributed to it in one way or another, in most cases through incompetence but in some cases through dishonesty and greed.
‘The failings can be traced back over many years and our efforts to get to the bottom of what went wrong and why, account for the length of our report and the time it has taken us to produce it.’
Criticising the RBKC, he said: ‘Authorities’ response: those who lost their homes as a result of the fire were badly let down by the organisations that should have provided the support they desperately needed.
‘The primary responsibility for that lay with the council … in the event, it failed to put in place suitable plans.’
He said local voluntary organisations ‘filled the gap’ helping those most in need.
The final hearing of the second phase of the inquiry took place in November 2022, with families having previously spoken of their long wait and continued fight for justice.
The report’s findings are expected to ramp up pressure on police and prosecutors to make speedier progress on getting people before the courts – something many bereaved and survivors have said must happen for justice to be served.
In May, the Metropolitan Police said their investigators need until the end of 2025 to finalise their inquiry, and prosecutors will then need a year to decide whether charges can be brought.
It means victims and their families will likely have waited at least a decade to bring those responsible to account in a UK court.
Bereaved and survivors have described that wait as ‘unbearable’.
According to the update from police and prosecutors earlier this year, the mammoth police investigation into the fire has already generated 27,000 lines of inquiry and more than 12,000 witness statements.
A total of 58 individuals and 19 companies and organisations are under investigation for potential criminal offences, and more than 300 hours of interviews have taken place.
Potential offences under consideration include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, misconduct in public office, health and safety offences, fraud and offences under the fire safety and building regulations.
Sir Martin’s first report, into what happened on the night of the blaze, ruled the tower’s cladding panels broke building regulations and actively helped spread the blaze.
And he criticised those he felt contributed to that – cladding manufacturers Arconic, Kingspan, whose insulation product made up around 5 per cent of the insulation in the tower block, and Celotex, who made the majority of the insulation boards used in the refurbishment.
He said French firm Arconic ‘deliberately concealed’ from the market the true extent of the danger of using Reynobond 55 PE – aluminium panels containing a plastic filling, that were repeatedly used by councils due to its relatively low cost.
The inquiry found Arconic was ‘determined to exploit what it saw as weak regulatory regimes’ in the UK by continuing to sell this product, despite knowing it performed much worse in a fire than a superior, modified version it also manufactured.
Instead, it allowed customers in the UK to continue buying the unmodified version, and failed to pass on the information about its performance.
Sir Martin said: ‘That was not an oversight. It reflected a deliberate strategy to continue selling Reynobond 55 PE in the UK, based on a statement about its fire performance it knew to be false.’
He said British-based Celotex manipulated fire tests to make it erroneously appear as though its insulation boards were safe for use on Grenfell Tower. They were not.
And he said Irish firm Kingspan ‘knowingly’ claimed – incorrectly – that its insulation could be used on buildings over 18 metres in height, regardless of design or other components.
He said Kingspan successfully obtained a certificate from the industry body Local Authority Building Control (LABC) that backed up those false claims – and relied on that endorsement to sell that product for ‘many years’.
He said: ‘Kingspan cynically exploited the industry’s lack of detailed knowledge about (its products) and relied on the fact that an unsuspecting market was very likely to rely on its own claims about the product.’
Sir Martin said: ‘The dishonest strategies of Arconic and Kingspan succeeded in a large measure due to the incompetence of the BBA, its failure to adhere robustly to the system checks it had put in palace, and an ingrained willingness to accommodate customers instead of insisting on high standards and adherence to a contract that was intended to maintain them.’
He found the underlying problem was that the BBA failed to manage the conflict between ‘the need to act as a commercial organisation in order to attract and retain customers and the need to exercise a high degree of rigour and independence in its investigations in order to satisfy those who might consider relying on its certificates’.
He said: ‘Its lack of robust processes and reluctance to enforce the terms of its contracts enabled it to become the victim of dishonest behaviour on the part of unscrupulous manufacturers.’
Sir Martin accused architects Studio E – who were responsible for the design of the external wall and the choice of materials used – of bearing ‘a very significant degree of responsibility for the disaster’, of failing to recognise the aluminium panels were dangerous and that the insulation material was combustible.
He said Rydon, the lead contractor for the £10 million renovation, was similarly culpable because of its ‘casual attitude’ throughout the project, and because it gave ‘inadequate thought to fire safety’.
Sir Martin said cladding contractor Harley ‘failed in many respects to meet the standards’ expected of it, and ‘did not concern itself sufficiently with fire safety at any stage of the refurbishment’.
He said it, too, ‘bears a significant degree of responsibility for the fire’.
Despite this, data from outsourcing data specialists Tussell showed Rydon and companies currently or formerly owned by Saint-Gobain, which made the combustible Celotex insulation used on the tower, received public contracts worth nearly £270 million in the last five years.
Sir Martin criticised fire testing firm Exova for the fact that Grenfell ‘was in a dangerous condition’ once the works were complete.
In a damning summary, he said: ‘Our investigations have shown that levels of competence in the construction industry are generally low.’
He said: ‘Safety of people in the built environment depends principally on a combination of three primary elements – good design, the choice of suitable materials, and sound methods of construction, each of which depends in turn in a large measure on a fourth – the skill, knowledge and experience of those engaged in the construction industry.
‘Unfortunately, as our investigations have shown, at the time of the Grenfell Tower fire there were serious deficiencies in all four of those areas.’
He said the TMO ‘must also take a share of the blame for the disaster’, due to its lack of care in the choice of architect, while paying insufficient attention to matters affecting fire safety.
Indeed the TMO’s only fire assessor for its entire estate was said to have been allowed to ‘drift into the role without any formal selection or procurement process’, and was ‘ill-qualified to carry out fire risk assessments’ – partly due to having ‘misrepresented’ his previous experience and qualifications.
Sir Martin said the demands of managing fire safety were viewed by the TMO as an ‘inconvenience’ rather than an ‘essential aspect’ of its duty to manage its property carefully.
And he criticised the TMO’s attitude towards Grenfell’s residents – many of whom were vulnerable or from low-income backgrounds.
He said relations between the two parties were increasingly characterised by ‘distrust, dislike, personal antagonism and anger’.
Sir Martin said: ‘Some, perhaps many, occupants of the tower regarded the TMO as an uncaring and bullying overlord that belittled and marginalised them, regarded them as a nuisance, or worse, and failed to take their concerns seriously.’
He said the TMO regarded some of the residents as ‘militant troublemakers’ led on by a handful of vocal activists, including social worker Edward Daffarn – whose perilous blogs on the state of Grenfell foresaw the potential for tragedy.
Sir Martin said the TMO may have found Mr Daffarn’s style ‘offensive’ but said: ‘However irritating and inconvenient it may at times have found the complaints and demands of some of the residents of Grenfell Tower, for the TMO to have allowed the relationship to deteriorate to such an extent reflects a serious failure on its part to observe its basic responsibilities.’
And he said the local council – under the leadership at the time of Nicholas Holgate – was ‘wholly inadequate’ to the task of handling the human crisis in the days afterwards.
He said: ‘Certain aspects of the response demonstrated a marked lack of respect for human decency and dignity and left many of those immediately affected feeling abandoned by authority and utterly helpless.’
Mr Holgate, who he said was ‘not capable’ of managing the situation, later resigned over criticism of his council’s handling of the situation.
Sir Martin, summarising what he described as a ‘path to disaster’, said the concluding part of the multi-million-pound inquiry set out to answer how it was possible ‘in 21st century London, for a reinforced concrete building, itself structurally impervious to fire, to be turned into a death trap that would enable fire to sweep through it in an uncontrollable way in a matter of a fer hours despite what were thought to be effective regulations designed to prevent such an event?’
He said: ‘There is no simple answer to that question, but in this report we identify many failings of a wide range of institutions, entities and individuals over many years that together brought about that situation.’
He also accused the council of failing to make enough use of local voluntary organisations in the aftermath.
He said: ‘Those who emerge from the events with the greatest credit, and whose contribution only emphasised the inadequacies of the official response, are the members of the local community.’
He made 58 recommendations, including that the profession of fire engineer be recognised and protected by law and an independent body be established to regulate the industry.
Sir Martin also suggested that it be made a legal requirement for the Government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries together with a description of the steps taken in response.
If the Government decides not to accept a recommendation, it should record its reasons for doing so, he said.
‘Scrutiny of its actions should be a matter for Parliament, to which it should be required to report annually.’
Despite the severity of today’s report – and the catalogue of failures identified – families of the Grenfell victims may have to wait years for prosecutions.
The Metropolitan Police are still investigating a range of possible offences including corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter, as well health and safety issues.
But they believe it could take at least 18 months to pore over and fully assess the contents of the final report, which was not permitted to determine criminal liability.
Only then will Scotland Yard go to the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise any charges. Given the complexities of the tragedy, and the various components involved, it is unlikely any prosecution would ever reach a criminal court in the UK until at least 2027 – a decade after the devastating blaze.
But anything said by witnesses to the inquiry cannot be used to prosecute them, due to a ruling made after those called to give evidence threatened to stay silent.
The youngest victim was Logan Gomes, who was stillborn in hospital hours after his parents fled the blaze.
Maria del Pilar Burton, a 74-year-old resident known as Pily, died in palliative care the following January. She had been in a care home, unable to return to her husband Nicholas, since the fire and was considered to be the 72nd and final casualty.
Others who perished in the blaze included celebrated artist Khadija Saye, 24, an 84-year-old known simply as Sheila, and five-year-old Isaac Paulos.
Multiple members of the same family groups also succumbed to their injuries.
The first phase of the inquiry found the London Fire Brigade was plagued with ‘institutional failures’ and its preparation for a Grenfell-style inferno was ‘gravely inadequate’.
And it said lives were probably lost because crews and 999 operators wasted ‘the best part of an hour’ telling the block’s occupants to ‘stay put’ in their flats – before realising the blaze was wildly out of control.
Grenfell Tower fire victims: From an unborn baby to an 84-year-old grandmother-of six, the 72 people who lost their lives in the 2017 disaster
By JANE MATTHEWS
As the final report into the Grenfell Tower fire is released seven years after the deadly blaze, the nation will be remembering the 72 men, women and children who lost their lives in the inferno in 2017.
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.
Families of those killed – who were shown the report yesterday so they could digest the findings in private – have insisted it must prompt widespread change.
They have spent years fighting for justice for those the loved ones they lost – after they say a ‘spider’s web of blame’ was spun.
But who were the 72 innocent people who were killed when the the fire took hold of the West London block on June 14, 2017? takes a look.
The youngest victim was an unborn baby, Logan Gomes.
The father of stillborn Logan, who died inside his mother as they fled the 21st floor, broke down as he recalled the events of June 14, 2017.
Marcio Gomes told the inquiry in 2018: ‘He might not be here physically but he will always be here in our hearts, and will be forever.’
Denis Murphy had been on the 14th floor.
The 56-year-old’s sister said: ‘Once you had met Denis, you would never forget his warmth, wit, cheeky smile and love of life.’
On the 23rd floor, Mohammed Amied Neda was killed.
The 57-year-old’s son said: ‘My dad loved life and loved meeting people. He would get along with almost everyone. He was a man of deep integrity and fairness.’
Joseph Daniels died on floor 16.
His son Samuel said of the 69-year-old: ‘The events of that night took his life and all traces of his existence from this world. He stood no chance of getting out and this should never have happened.’
On floor 20, Mary Mendy tragically died.
The 54-year-old’s niece said: ‘She was warm and kind, she welcomed everyone into her home. Grenfell Tower was a place all her family and friends could find shelter if they ever needed it.’
Khadija Saye was also on floor 20.
The 24-year-old’s father said: ‘She was very gentle, very kind and friendly. Her burning passion was photography, encouraged by her mother, Mary Mendy.’
On floor 19, Debbie Lamprell was killed.
The 45-year-old’s mother Miriam said: ‘You rarely saw my Debbie without a smile. People took to Debbie because she was a friendly, easy person.’
Maria del Pilar Burton was also on floor 19 when the blaze broke out.
Nicholas Burton, husband of the 74-year-old, known as Pily, said: ‘She was a unique, beautiful, exceptional person until this tragedy had taken it away.’
Pily is considered the 72nd victim of the fire, despite dying in January 2018, after experiencing a stroke.
Mother Rania Ibrahim and her two children Fethia Hassan, four, and three-year-old Hania Hassan had been on floor 23.
The 31-year-old’s husband, Hassan Awadh Hassan, said: ‘I’m not just standing here crying because my wife is gone. My wife and my kids are very lucky. Because the way it’s going, I wish if I go like them. I wait for my day.’
Six members of the Choucair family perished on floor 22.
Nadia Choucair, 33, her husband Bassem Choukair, 40, their three children Mierna, 13, Fatima, 11, and Zainab, three, died along with their grandmother Sirria Choucair, 60.
Hisam Choucair, the son of Sirria, said: ‘She sacrificed everything for us so we could prosper and be a proper part of the country she’d adopted as her home.’
Of his sister Nadia, he said: ‘We all loved Nadia. She was beautiful, but she was also wise.’
Of his brother-in-law Bassem Choukair, he said: ‘He was an excellent father: kind, loving, considerate, always wanted the best for his children.’
Of Mierna, he said: ‘She loved school. Loved learning. She wanted to be either a doctor or a lawyer. The last time I talked with her about it, she couldn’t decide.’
Of Fatima, her aunt Sawsam said: ‘Fatima was a great gymnast. She had the body for it and wanted to become a professional gymnast when she grew up.’
Of Zainab, she said: ‘We all loved Zainab. When I would come back from work Zainab was so happy to see me.’
Hesham Rahman died on floor 23.
Mr Rahman’s nephew Karim Mussilhy said: ‘My uncle used to express himself through poetry on social media and he wrote some beautiful poems.’
Reading from one, he quoted: ‘Remember my presence before my departure. To see a smile on your face when I’m gone, a prayer from your heart.’
On the 22nd floor, Anthony Disson died.
The 65-year-old’s son Lee said: ‘He was a very special person and I would like him to be remembered for who he was when he was alive. He was always there to help anyone, no matter who you were or where you came from.’
Zainab Deen and son Jeremiah Deen had been on floor 14.
The family of Zainab Deen, 32, said: ‘Zainab had it all; she was beautiful, smart, warm, caring and a confident and outgoing young woman.’
Of her two-year-old son Jeremiah, they said: ‘He was loving, full of life, liked playing football and loved exploring and adventuring.’
On the 11th floor, Ali Yawar Jafari was killed.
The 82-year-old’s son Hamid Ali Jafari said in a video tribute: ‘I think the happiest moment he had was when my son was born, because he was attached to him a lot.’
Gary Maunders had been on floor 19 when the blaze erupted.
Ana Pumar, the mother of the 57-year-old’s two youngest children, said: ‘Gary was always the life and soul of everything we did and anywhere he went. Gary had a lively personality and a great sense of humour which was enjoyed by any company he found himself in.’
On floor 19, Majorie Vital and Ernie Vital died.
The mother, 68, and son, 50, became moulded together in the fire, a surviving son of Marjorie said.
He said: ‘It reminded me, as a child growing up he was constantly in my mother’s arms, and when they were fused together it symbolised to me their level of closeness that they had, that umbilical cord, that my brother still relatively had intact.’
Mother and daughter Victoria King and Alexandra Atala had been on the 20th floor when the blaze broke out.
The family of Ms King, 71, and her 40-year-old daughter said: ‘They were, and are, still together and that is what is important. The fire is a tragedy for all of us.’
Tuccu-Ahmedin family had been on floor 19.
Mohamednur Tuccu, 44, his wife Amal Ahmedin, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin, all died. Amna Mahmud Idris, 27, was visiting her cousin Ms Ahmedin at the time of the fire and also died.
Amal’s family said: ‘Amal was the most caring and loving person you could ever meet. Her capacity to love was unmatchable.’
Of Amaya, three, they said: ‘She was so smart and a bit cheeky, and we all realised pretty early on that she was definitely her mother’s daughter.’
Mohamednur Tuccu’s sister-in-law Winta said: ‘Mohamednur was such an amazing person. He would treat me like I was his little sister. He would buy us gifts every time he’d come round and talk to us as if we were his friends.’
Ibrahim Abdulkerim said of his wife, 27-year-old wife Amna Mahmud Idris: ‘She was support to me at all times. Not only me, but everyone who know her. She was the light of her family.’
The Miah-Begum family on floor 17 also perished.
Kamru Miah, 79, Rabeya Begum, 64, Mohammed Hamid, 28, Mohammed Hanif, 26 and Husna Begum, 22.
Mohammed Hakim said of Mr Miah: ‘My father was a humble, loving, caring, honest, kind and loyal man.’
Of his mother Ms Begum, he said: ‘She was a fierce mother, protecting her children from all harm, giving individual attention and care to each of us. She was deeply loved and adored by all her family and anyone that knew her.’
Of his brother Mr Hamid, he said: ‘Hamid was the most incredible, fascinating person you could ever wish to meet. His fun-loving personality always shone through, even when he wasn’t feeling his best.’
Of his brother Mr Hanif, he said: ‘Whoever crossed paths with Hanif was immediately captured by his bright, warming smile. His gentle and kind approach was so unique and made everyone around him feel comfortable and at ease.’
Of his sister Ms Begum, he said: ‘Husna was the epitome of adventure and spirit. She marvelled at the universe and had a burning desire to travel and experience as much of the world as possible.’
On floor 12, Fathia Ahmed Elsanousi, Abufras Ibrahim and Isra Ibrahim died.
Their family said 73-year-old Fathia ‘was a pillar of the Sudanese community in London. She was highly respected. She was a source of wiseness and jolliness to the community’.
Said Essaouini, the husband of her 33-year-old daughter Isra Ibrahim, said: ‘I will never find no-one like her, never ever, ever a woman like Isra again, and I am ripped up to pieces, only God knows how much I’m ripped up.’
The brother of Mr Ibrahim, who he called Fras, said he was a very brave man who loved cooking.
Ligaya Moore died on floor 21.
The 78-year-old’s friend said: ‘She was so proud to live in Grenfell. She would always say every time we walked past: ‘Nenita, that’s my building, 21st floor. It’s a big building and I love it so much, even though I’m alone there, I love seeing it every day’.’
On the 17th floor, Vincent Chiejina perished,
The sister of Vincent Chiejina, 60, said: ‘I think he was also quite good at looking after people who were quite vulnerable like himself, so he would never reject anybody just because they were less privileged than himself.’
The El-Wahabi family perished on floor 21.
Father Abdulaziz, 52, wife Faouzia, 41, and children Yasin, 20, Nur Huda, 16, and Mehdi, eight, all died.
Mr Abdulaziz’s family said: ‘He was a kind, loyal family man. He had an infectious and caring personality.’
Of Mrs El-Wahabi, her family said: ‘Faouzia was a lively, friendly woman who loved her role of being a mother and a wife.’
Of Yasin, a relative said: ‘He was a sociable and popular person. He would always help neighbours with their bags and open doors.’
A cousin said: ‘Nur Huda was admirable and her bright smile left a deep print on everyone’s hearts.’
Mehdi’s teacher said: ‘One of his strongest qualities was his ability to make us laugh and smile, we knew we could rely upon him to lighten our mood and brighten our day.’
Khadija Khalloufi died on floor 17.
The 52-year-old’s husband, Sabah Abdullah: ‘I am not trying to make my wife an angel or something, but to them (her children) she was more than an angel.’
On floor 20, Jessica Urbano Ramirez was killed.
The 12-year-old’s sister said: ‘The tragedy took Jess away from us two weeks before her 13th birthday, two weeks before we could see her all dressed up, just like she always did her entire life, enjoying any opportunity she had to look her best.’
The Kedir family died on floor 22.
Hashim Kedir, 44, died with his wife Nura Jemal, 35, daughter Firdaws Hashim, 12, and sons Yahya Hashim, 13, and Yaqub Hashim, six.
Relatives of Hashim said: ‘You were intelligent, smart, hardworking, hilarious and caring. You were always there for everyone and anyone who needed help.’
Of Firdaws, a family member said: ‘She turned out to be a beautiful, intelligent and eloquent girl with a beautiful voice.’
‘Nura was a positive-minded, devout and courageous mother and wife’, a relative said.
Of Yahya, a relative said: ‘Yahya was a very grateful boy. He always wanted to make sure that everyone around him was OK. He loved laughing so much. He would do anything to make everyone laugh.’
‘I was always very fascinated by little Yaqub, by his energy, his physical fitness and his sharp mind,’ a family member said.
Steve Power died on floor 15.
The children of Steve Power, 63, said: ‘Our dad was nothing short of a character. He left some sort of impression on everyone, like Marmite. The majority loved him.’
On floor 22, Eslah and Mariem Elgwahry were killed.
Mariem’s brother said: ‘My sister was confident and strong. She wasn’t afraid to speak up or speak her mind, and was very secure in her words. She had an inner confidence and had grown into a strong and ambitious woman.’
Of his mother, he said: ‘My mum touched many hearts and was a strong woman who raised Mariem and I on her own since my father passed.’
Berkti Haftom and Biruk Haftom died on floor 18.
The sisters of pregnant Berkti Haftom, 29, said: ‘Our sister Berkti was a brilliant mum. She gave so much love to her sons.’
Her 12-year-old son Biruk’s family said: ‘Biruk entered this world greeted by love, the love of his mother’s face, and we are sure he left this world looking at the love of that same beautiful face. These thoughts sustain us in our darkest hours.’
On floor 23, Gloria Trevisan died.
The 26-year-old’s mother said: ‘Gloria was a girl full of life. She really loved life and, although she missed the sun, she missed the food and she missed Italy generally, she was very happy for the work and the job that she had found here, so she was happily settled here.’
Marco Gottardi was killed on floor 23.
The 27-year-old lived on the block’s top floor with his partner, Gloria Trevisan.
His father Giannino Gottardi, told Il Mattino newspaper his son called at 3.45am, then again just after 4am.
Mr Gottardi said: ‘In the second call, and I can’t get this out of my head, he said there was smoke, that so much smoke was rising.’
In the first report he was listed as having been a ‘sound, grounded person’ and someone who was ‘very calm and sensible’.
Sakina Afrasehabi perished on floor 18.
The 65-year-old’s daughter said: ‘My mother was well liked. She loved the children on her floor and always gave them sweets. She was everyone’s grandma.’
Also on floor 18, Hamid Kani died.
A relative of the 61-year-old said: ‘Hamid lived to love and loved to live. He would have been especially proud that out of the tragedy of Grenfell Tower there has been an outpouring of love, togetherness, and support across the nationalities, religions, regardless of differences, class or culture.’
Isaac Paulos had also been on floor 18.
The five-year-old’s father said: ‘My son was beautiful, a little boy with so much potential. I will never forget Isaac’s big, beautiful eyes, his calm look.’
Mohammad al-Haj Ali had been on floor 14.
The 23-year-old’s friend said: ‘I could see that he was special. One of a kind. He was a very compassionate person who cared about people. He was a perfectionist; everything that he did, he excelled.’
Raymond ‘Moses’ Bernard died on floor 23.
The 63-year-old’s sister said: ‘My beloved Ray was my modern day Moses, my hero. Ray always had a smile on his face. He knew how to love without expecting anything in return.’
Visiting her sister on the 18th floor had been Fatemeh Afrasiabi.
A daughter of the 59-year-old said: ‘She loved her children, she would do everything for us.’
The Belkadi family tragically died on floor 20.
Farah Hamdan, 31, her husband Omar Belkadi, 32, and children Malak Belkadi, eight, and six-month-old Leena Belkadi, all died.
Mrs Hamdan’s father said of his daughter and her husband Omar: ‘They were the best people. They really loved each other. You can see them in the photos, you can see how they were. It’s very obvious that they loved each other.’
Of their children, he said: ‘God bless their souls. They used to call me ‘Jiddi’, which means grandpa. That was my name.’
Abdeslam Sebbar had been on floor 11.
The 77-year-old was recovered from the floor where he lived. His family did not pay tribute to him publicly during commemorations at the inquiry in 2018.
Sheila, as she was known, had lived on floor 16.
The 84-year-old lived on the 16th floor. A friend, Gary Allen, said he had known her for 20 years, and described her as a ‘truly beautiful person’ and ‘love, pure and simple’. While formally known as Sheila Smith, her family have requested that she is referred to simply as Sheila.
June 14 2017
At 12.54am, a call is made to the London Fire Brigade reporting a fire has broken out in a fourth-floor flat.
Barely half an hour later, at 1.29am, flames have climbed to the top floor of the 24-storey block.
Images and footage of the devastating fire make headlines across the world.
June 28 2017
Retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick is appointed to lead a public inquiry into the disaster.
July 28 2017
The Government announces an independent review into building regulations will be led by Dame Judith Hackitt.
It is alleged that they are complex, unclear and leave enough wriggle room for contractors to cut corners on safety.
September 19 2017
The Metropolitan Police announce a widening of their criminal investigation, as detectives consider individual as well as corporate manslaughter charges.
November 30 2017
A petition, backed by singer Adele, is set up urging then prime minister Theresa May to appoint additional panel members alongside the inquiry chairman.
It is feared that Sir Martin will lack valuable first-hand experience of life as a social tenant in a multicultural neighbourhood.
December 22 2017
Theresa May turns down the request from survivors and bereaved families to overhaul the public inquiry, saying Sir Martin has the ‘necessary expertise to undertake its work’.
January 29 2018
Maria del Pilar Burton, a 74-year-old survivor known as Pily, dies in palliative care. She had been in a care home, unable to return to her husband Nicholas, since the fire.
She comes to be considered the 72nd victim of the fire.
May 17 2018
Dame Judith Hackitt recommends ‘fundamental reform’ to improve fire safety, in her report, which identifies a ‘race to the bottom’ in building safety practices with cost prioritised over safety.
Ministers promise to consult on banning flammable cladding.
May 21 2018
The inquiry begins seven days of commemoration hearings to the dead, starting with a heartbreaking tribute to the fire’s youngest victim, stillborn Logan Gomes.
June 4 2018
Sir Martin’s inquiry begins hearing opening statements from lawyers and a batch of expert reports are released.
June 14 2018
A year after the fire, survivors and bereaved relatives gather for a church service and observe a minute’s silence by the tower.
They are joined by rapper Stormzy and, later, then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
June 21 2018
Firefighter evidence begins. It ends with then London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton telling the inquiry she would change nothing about her team’s response on the night of the fire.
Survivors and the bereaved react with anger.
September 30 2018
The Government bans the use of combustible cladding on all new residential buildings above 18 metres, as well as schools, care homes, student accommodation and hospitals.
October 3 2018
Survivors, those who lost family in the fire and local residents begin giving evidence at the inquiry.
December 12 2018
The first phase of the inquiry ends.
May 30 2019
The Prime Minister appoints two new inquiry panel members to sit alongside Sir Martin in the second phase of the probe – a ‘step forward’ welcomed by survivors.
June 10 2019
Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy says there is no guarantee criminal damages will be brought over the fire.
He said: ‘Even now, coming up to the two-year anniversary, there is no guarantee that we can give that there will be criminal charges.
‘There is a guarantee that they (the bereaved and survivors) have our absolute personal commitment to do what we can to make sure this investigation is fearless, secures all the evidence that it can and puts that evidence before the Crown Prosecution Service.’
June 18 2019
Survivors and bereaved families project a message on to the Houses of Parliament reading: ‘Two years after Grenfell, this building still hasn’t kept its promises £DemandChange.’
This followed similar action in the previous week when ‘unsafe’ tower blocks across the UK were illuminated with calls for the Government to take urgent action.
July 18 2019
A Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report accuses the Government of ‘not doing enough’ to remove dangerous cladding from buildings, more than two years on from the blaze.
The report also says that the £200 million set aside for remediation of private sector residential buildings with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding will not be enough.
October 30 2019
The first report, on phase one of the inquiry, is published. It concludes that the principal reason the flames shot up the building so quickly was the combustible aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding with polyethylene core which acted as a ‘source of fuel’.
It also finds the London Fire Brigade (LFB)’s preparation for a tower block fire such as Grenfell was ‘gravely inadequate’ and its lack of evacuation plan a ‘major omission’.
Its 46 recommendations include points on evacuations of high-rise residential buildings, and around communications within fire and rescue services and among emergency services during major incidents.
November 6 2019
Jacob Rees-Mogg apologises for suggesting Grenfell victims should have used ‘common sense’ and ignored fire service guidance not to leave the burning tower block.
Mr Rees-Mogg, leader of the House of Commons at the time, faces widespread criticism, including from Grenfell survivors and Jeremy Corbyn, after he said people are safer if they ‘just ignore what you’re told and leave’, while discussing London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) ‘stay-put’ policy.
December 19 2019
Survivors call for a Fire Safety Bill to improve safety by compelling building owners and managers of multi-occupied residential premises to mitigate the risks of external walls, including cladding and fire doors, to be hurried through Parliament.
February 24 2020
Campaigners urge the Government to create a multibillion-pound fund to remove flammable cladding after new research suggested more than half a million people could currently be living in unsafe homes.
The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), whose members manage more than 50,000 apartment buildings, said 25% of these properties with 50 units or more were found to have unsafe cladding after it carried out an analysis using a sample of its largest buildings.
Across the entire portfolio, this equates to 1,375 buildings that are home to 550,000 people, it said.
March 11 2020
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces a £1 billion fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise residential buildings.
As part of the spring 2020 Budget, the money is put forward for scrapping all combustible cladding materials from all residential buildings over 18 metres tall.
The Government had previously committed a total of £600 million to get rid of aluminium composite material (ACM) panels.
April 28 2020
Remediation work to address unsafe cladding on high-rise residential blocks pauses ‘on as many as 60% of sites’ after the Covid-19 outbreak, then communities secretary Robert Jenrick says.
November 2 2020
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) launches a campaign for extra funds for the fire and rescue service after research shows there are some 11,200 fewer firefighters than a decade ago.
November 17 2020
Robert Jenrick said he hopes dangerous cladding like that used on the outside of Grenfell Tower will be removed from the majority of other buildings by the end of the year.
January 19 2021
The Government pledges to set up a new regulator to ensure the safety of building materials after ‘deeply disturbing’ evidence of malpractice was heard at the Grenfell Inquiry.
The investigation heard that some firms involved in the production of materials used on the tower’s flammable cladding deliberately manipulated fire tests and marketing materials.
Now, a regulator for construction products will be able to remove any products from the market that pose a safety risk and prosecute any companies that are found to be flouting rules.
January 28 2021
Labour says leaseholders should be protected from the cost of replacing dangerous cladding on homes, with leader Sir Keir Starmer describing the situation as ‘intolerable’.
February 10 2021
Robert Jenrick announces a new £3.5 billion package to pay for the removal of unsafe cladding, but critics – including some Tories – say it fails to address the problems faced by residents living in unsellable flats in unsafe blocks.
March 19 2021
Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart says the Scottish Government will offer free cladding inspections of high-rise buildings.
April 29 2021
Campaigners condemn the Government’s ‘indefensible’ Fire Safety Bill, which will become law and leave hundreds of thousands of leaseholders paying to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings.
October 27 2021
The Government decides to charge property developers with profits of more than £25 million a levy, to raise the £5 billion fund to remove unsafe cladding, at a rate of 4%.
October 31 2021
The Ministry of Defence says 755 buildings with sleeping accommodation for troops in the UK are either fully or partially covered in ‘combustible’ cladding.
November 8 2021
Newly-appointed Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the Government ‘failed people at Grenfell’ and did not always appreciate the importance of fire safety, in his first address to MPs in the role.
January 7 2022
Michael Gove says thousands of flat owners living in buildings taller than 11 metres will be spared the cost of removing dangerous cladding.
January 10 2022
Michael Gove says developers must agree to a £4 billion plan to fix dangerous cladding on low-rise flats by early March or risk new laws forcing them to act.
January 27 2022
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry enters Phase 2, which is investigating how the building came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread so quickly.
May 2022
The Government says that, despite widespread support for personal emergency evacuation plans (Peeps), there remain what it described as significant barriers to implementing them, on the grounds of proportionality, practicality, and safety.
Recommendations to the Government following phase one of the inquiry included that the owners and managers of high-rise residential buildings be required by law to prepare Peeps for residents unable to self-evacuate.
June 14 2022
Bereaved and survivors gather for the fifth anniversary of the fire, some of them saying families feel ‘abandoned’ amid half a decade of ‘betrayal’ by the housing department as progress on safety and change remains slow.
March 2023
Michael Gove names companies he said have not yet agreed to the remediation contract for fixing building safety issues.
The Housing Secretary calls out the housebuilding companies after the deadline he previously gave to sign up to the agreement aimed at addressing cladding issues following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire passes.
He said 39 developers had signed the contract, committing £2 billion to fund repairs to high-rise buildings which have unsafe cladding or other fire safety defects.
July 2023
The long-awaited Social Housing (Regulation) Act passes into law, including a requirement for social housing managers to have professional qualifications – a measure which had been called for by campaign group Grenfell United.
The group says it hopes the law can ‘create a legacy for the lives that were lost’, going some way towards ‘the positive change the social housing sector so desperately needs to improve conditions for tenants’.
January 2024
Housing Secretary Michael Gove accuses insulation company Kingspan of trying to ‘wriggle out of their responsibilities’ in relation to the fire as he blames the firm for giving capitalism ‘a bad name’.
In a radio interview he says: ‘You can wriggle as much as you like, but the evidence is clear.
‘You have got to own up to your responsibility. We cannot have people who put unsafe products on the market attempting to say ‘do you know what? it’s someone else’s fault’. That does not do.’
The company has long said that its K15 insulation product made up only 5% of the insulation in the tower block, and was used without its recommendation.
May 2024
Police confirm bereaved families and survivors face waiting until the end of 2026 for a decision on potential criminal charges over the fire.
The Met says their investigators need until the end of 2025 to finalise their inquiry, and prosecutors will then need a year to decide whether charges can be brought.
Grenfell United describes the wait, which could stretch to a decade after the catastrophic fire, as ‘unbearable’.
In the same month, the publication date for the final report is announced as September 4.
June 14 2024
On the seventh anniversary of the fire, campaigners from the infected blood scandal and the Covid Bereaved group join for the memorial walk.
They back a call for a national oversight mechanism – an independent public body to be put in place, responsible for collating, analysing and following up on recommendations from public inquiries.
July 2024
Government figures at the end of July showed that of the 4,630 residential buildings in England of 11m (36ft) or higher that had been identified with unsafe cladding, only around half (2,299) were noted as having either started or completed remediation works.
Of this, less than a third (1,350) overall were recorded as having completed such works.
August 26 2024
A non-fatal fire at a block of flats in east London which had been undergoing work to have cladding removed prompts fierce criticism of the slow pace of remediation works on dangerous budlings.
Grenfell United say the incident in Dagenham ‘highlights the painfully slow progress of remediation across the country, and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole’, while expert Dame Judith Hackitt describes it as ‘really concerning’ that so many people are still living in uncertainty and fear about the safety of their homes.
New Housing Secretary Angela Rayner acknowledges progress on making buildings safe has been too slow and says there remains ‘far too much’ dangerous cladding on properties.
She says she will meet regulators to ‘press home the urgency to make sure that that work is done’.
September 4 2024
The final report is published.