The families of the people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire have spoken out after being told the block will be demolished.
Grenfell Next of Kin, a group representing some of the bereaved families, says Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, ‘announced the decision that the tower will have to be carefully deconstructed’.
But some bereaved families say their opinions on the future of the tower have been ignored by the government, saying that ignoring their voices ‘on the future of our loved ones’ gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable’.
Some 72 people were killed in the blaze, which ripped through the London tower block on June 14, 2017, due to being clad in combustible materials.
A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin said: ‘For the next of kin of the deceased, that building is a shrine and the death place of their immediate families, their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children – but they understand the hard facts around safety.’
They added that the decision around the tower’s future is ‘obviously a very sensitive and difficult’ one.
Grenfell United, which represents other bereaved families and survivors of the fire, claim the voices of many have been ignored.
They say they’ve repeatedly urged housing secretaries to ‘consult the bereaved and survivors meaningfully before reaching a decision on the tower’ – but claim Angela Rayner ‘refused’ to confirm how many had been spoken to in a recent four-week consultation.
In a statement, they said: ‘Angela Rayner could not give a reason for her decision to demolish the tower. She refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the recent, short four-week consultation.
‘But judging from the room alone – the vast majority of whom were bereaved – no one supported her decision. But she claims her decision is based on our views.’
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report, published in September, found the disaster was caused by ‘decades of failure’ by the government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.
The shell of the building has stood in place ever since the fire, covered with sheeting featuring a green heart and the words ‘forever in our hearts’.
Views on what should happen on the site are mixed, with some bereaved and survivors feeling the tower should remain in place until there are criminal prosecutions over the failings which led to the fire.
The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting separately on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower, and in 2023 set out recommendations for a ‘sacred space’ for ‘remembering and reflecting’.
A shortlist of five potential design teams was announced last month, with the winning team announced this summer. It’s hoped a planning application for a memorial could be ready to submit by the end of 2026.
It’s hoped the government will announce more details about the building’s future this week, but their most recent update said structural engineering advice remained unchanged ‘in that the building (or that part of it that was significantly damaged) should be carefully taken down’.
The government also previously said there won’t be any changes to the site before the fire’s eighth anniversary in June.
A government spokesperson said: ‘The priority for the Deputy Prime Minister is to meet with and write to the bereaved, survivors and the immediate community to let them know her decision on the future of the Grenfell Tower.
‘This is a deeply personal matter for all those affected, and the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this.’
The final inquiry report, by chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick, concluded that Grenfell 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.
He said the ‘simple truth’ is that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were ‘badly failed’ by authorities ‘in most cases through incompetence but, in some cases, through dishonesty and greed’.
Last year, police and prosecutors said investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026.
The near 10-year wait for justice has been described by families as ‘unbearable’.