The survivors of Grenfell Tower have been joined by the bereaved families of those who lost loved ones in the Infected Blood scandal in memory of the high rise inferno.
Dozens marched at the service of remembrance to mark the seventh anniversary of the tragedy in the 23-storey tower block in which 72 people were killed in June 2017.
Campaigners said they are uniting in a ‘battle for justice’ and demanding the next government fixes ‘this broken country’.
Those gathered near the site of the tower on Friday evening heard a common 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.
Five years after 15 recommendations from phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry were made specifically directed at the Government, four remain outstanding, including introducing a legal obligation on landlords to provide personal emergency evacuation plans (Peeps) for disabled tenants.
Fellow campaigners Lobby Akinnola, on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) UK, and Jason Evans, who is director of the Factor 8 campaign group, both backed the call on recommendations and joined the Grenfell community for their annual silent walk.
Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after the Grenfell blaze, said campaign groups across the country ‘are uniting under the same battle for justice’.
Addressing the crowd, he said: ‘We are proud tonight to share the stage with two other vital campaigns – Infected Blood and Covid.
‘And share our call for a national overnight mechanism.
‘Tonight we are uniting with all of the bereaved up and down the country who have suffered losing loved ones in state care.
‘We stand together tonight to send the new government a message.
‘Fix this broken country. Rebuild these broken systems.
‘We demand justice, we demand change, we demand charges.’
Mr Evans, who was just four years old when his father died, said the Grenfell community was ‘truly incredible’ in the way it has come together in the wake of the disaster.
He said: ‘From the Infected Blood scandal community, we fully support that call. We fully support your cause.
‘We got our truth and answers, and I just hope to God you get yours too.’
Lobby Akinnola, on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) UK, backed the call on recommendations and joined the Grenfell community for their annual silent walk
Mr Akinnola, who lost his father in the pandemic, said he believed that uniting in a common call ‘will lead to a better tomorrow’.
‘No longer will the system that prioritises profit over people be allowed to stand,’ he said.
‘Together, side by side, as a united voice we will ensure that the legacy of our loved ones is not one of sorrow but of change and it will be a legacy of justice.’
Grenfell United has also backed calls for a Hillsborough Law, which would, under the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, include a legal duty of candour on public authorities and officials to tell the truth and proactively co-operate with official investigations and inquiries.
Labour’s manifesto, published on Thursday, committed to bringing in such a law, but campaigners have said that would be ‘only part of the picture’ and that a national oversight mechanism is vital to ensure recommendations are followed through.
The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be published in September.
This comes after a coroner slammed the Met Police over the death of an officer who suffered PTSD from working on the Grenfell Tower fire – one of a number of emergency workers to have taken their own lives following the tragedy.
Nicola Forster, 45, a safety training officer at Hendon Police College in north London, was found dead at her home in September 2022.
She developed post-traumatic stress disorder after her work during the fire in 2017 – which killed 72 people – and had been suffering with anxiety and depression, Central Bedfordshire Coroner’s Court heard.
Ms Forster did not deal with the fire directly but had been on hospital visiting duty to take statements following the fire.
The coroner concluded that the officer’s mental health was ‘exacerbated’ by the actions of her employer, increasing work pressure and loss of access to counselling.
In the year of the fire, there were at least 20 suicide attempts by people affected by the tragedy, according to charity Silence of Suicide, who called for adequate support for survivors.
A year later Amanda Beckles, a campaigner for victims of the Grenfell fire, gassed herself to death after writing a letter describing how the disaster had wrecked her life, an inquest heard.