By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LONDON (Worthy News) – Britain’s recently elected prime minister, Keir Starmer, faced political turmoil Thursday as a public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower blaze that killed 72 people blamed the disaster in part on failings by the government.
Additionally, the construction industry and, most of all, the firms involved in fitting the exterior with flammable cladding were blamed.
The fire ripped through the 23-storey social housing block during the early hours of June 14, 2017, in what was
Britain’s deadliest blaze in a residential building since World War Two.
“The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable,” noted inquiry chair Martin Moore-Bick.
He also 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 inquiry found that the companies involved in maintaining and refitting the apartment tower were most responsible for the disaster.
‘DISHONEST’ COMPANIES
Additionally, the investigators expressed concern about companies that “dishonestly” marketed combustible cladding materials as safe.
The inquiry also criticized the then-government, the local authority of Kensington and Chelsea, the industry, regulatory groups, specific individuals, and an “ill-prepared fire brigade” for years of inaction over fire safety in high-rise blocks.
The report’s recommendations include more rigid fire safety rules, a national fire and rescue college, and a single independent regulator for the construction industry.
But the advice comes too late for those still mourning their loved ones.
Prime Minister Starmer apologized to the relatives of victims and survivors on behalf of Britain. “It should have never happened,” he told them, and they had failed for years.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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