Grenfell Tower anniversary: UK building safety crisis ‘far from solved’ six years after fire killed 72 people

It’s been six years since the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower shocked the nation and revealed the terrifying number of unsafe homes in the UK. But 72 months later - one month for each person who lost their life in the tragedy - campaigners have warned that the building safety crisis is “far from solved”.

Richmond House Residents - a group of people who lost their homes in September 2019 because, like Grenfell, their flat block did not have proper fire safety features - warned that “very little has moved forward since the last anniversary”. Spokesperson Jennifer Frame told NationalWorld: “The national building safety crisis that was revealed in the aftermath of Grenfell remains far from solved.

“Home is the place where we should feel most safe and yet that’s still not the case for hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Politicians will say ‘never again’ on the anniversary, but action on the ground to make homes safe and to ensure that all those responsible are made to pay still remains a distant dream.”

She added that today and tonight, the group’s thoughts are “very much focused on the bereaved, survivors, and wider community [affected by Grenfell]”. But tomorrow and in the coming days, their campaigning will continue. “The government can and should do more, and we will continue to try to hold them to account,” Ms Frame said.

Survivors of the tragedy at Grenfell have also insisted more needs to be done as we reach the sixth anniversary of the tragedy. Omar Alhaj Ali spoke to NationalWorld’s sister website LondonWorld about his terrifying escape from the 14th floor of the building - recalling how all around him people were “screaming, crying, praying, and shouting from the windows”.

Firefighters managed to lead Omar to safety, but his brother was tragically left behind - just nine months after the pair had fled the war in their home country Syria and come to the UK in search of a better life. “I didn’t lose my brother during the war in Syria, but I lost him in London. So that’s what hurts the most,” Omar told LondonWorld.

Omar also criticised the ‘stay put’ policy that was in place for the tower block in West Kensington, London. He explained: “I’ve seen a lot of homes being bombed, and a lot of fires which were happening because of the war [in Syria]. And people used to support others easily. I remember they used to rescue people from the building in five, 10 minutes. I don’t understand what this policy did to help them. They just should have rescued everyone.”

Meanwhile, the government has marked the anniversary by issuing a renewed warning to any housing developers deemed to be removing dangerous cladding too slowly. A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said: “It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to have to live in an unsafe building and residents’ safety and wellbeing should always be the utmost priority.

“Building owners and developers must act quickly to fix any dangerous defects so residents can finally get on with their lives. We have been clear that those responsible must pay to end the crisis. All developers who have signed the developer remediation contract now have a legal duty to get on with remediation.”

But campaigners say the action is still too slow, with many pointing to the damning conclusion on the final day of the Grenfell Inquiry in December, when those gathered in Westminster heard that all 72 deaths in the tragedy were “avoidable”.

Richard Millett KC, counsel to the inquiry, said that “each and every one of the risks which eventuated at Grenfell Tower on that night were well known by many and ought to have been known by all. As a result, you will be able to conclude with confidence that each and every one of the deaths that occurred at Grenfell Tower on 14 June, 2017, was avoidable.”

The Grenfell Inquiry is yet to deliver its final report, but has promised on the anniversary of the fire that it is “working hard to complete the report as soon as possible in order to bring the waiting to and end and enable the full story behind the tragedy to be told”. It is expected the full findings will not be published until 2024.