Families concerned as Grenfell to be dismantled

The government has decided to dismantle Grenfell Tower, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told a meeting with bereaved relatives and survivors.

Seventy two people died when the tower block in west London caught fire in June 2017.

The decision follows several years of debate over the future of the 24-storey tower, with some hoping it would remain in place as a lasting reminder of the tragedy and others wanting it replaced with a new memorial.

A spokesperson for Grenfell United, a group which represents bereaved families and survivors, said "no-one" at the meeting supported Rayner's decision to "demolish the tower" and people "had been ignored".

Separately, the head of a local residents' association told Radio 4's The World Tonight he and "the overwhelming majority" supported the decision to take down the tower.

A formal announcement by the government is expected to be made on Friday.

The spokesperson for Grenfell United said Rayner had refused to confirm how many bereaved and survivors had been spoken to in the "recent, short four week consultation".

"Today's meeting showed just how upset bereaved and survivors are about not having their views heard or considered in this decision," they said in a statement.

"Ignoring the voices of bereaved on the future of our loved ones' gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable."

Kimia Zabihyan, from Grenfell Next of Kin, which also acts for some of the bereaved families, told the BBC she had attended the meeting with Rayner where she said the tower would be deconstructed down to the ground level.

She described the meeting as "charged", but said Rayner appeared to have come along with the "best of intentions".

"The deputy prime minister was very clear that she has taken this decision very seriously, that it is a serious responsibility and that it is a very sensitive decision to make, but it is one that she felt she had to make," said Ms Zabihyan, adding that Rayner said she had made the decision based on what engineers had recommended.

The government has previously been warned the structure may be unsafe due to the extent of the fire damage.

Ms Zabihyan said she understood the government's rationale for the decision, but said many people were very unhappy.

She said that at the meeting, one person had told Rayner: "No-one cares about this more than me, because I had just bits of bone to bury of my mother so that building means a lot to me. That is where her soul is, where her ashes are. It's in that building."

Following the meeting, 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."

Mushtaq Lasharie, a local resident and chairman of Lancaster West Estate Residents Association, told Radio 4: "We were waiting over seven and a half years for a closure and I hope this decision will bring a closure.

"When we surveyed a few years back the overwhelming majority wanted to take it out and the reason is, number one, it is dangerous, number two, it reminds us every day."

Emma Dent Coad, who was Labour MP for Kensington at the time of the Grenfell fire and is now an independent councillor on Kensington and Chelsea Council, said a lot of the bereaved and families were "absolutely distraught".

She said: "We've been told the work will start after the 8th anniversary which is this coming June and will be gone by the 10th so that may take two years to deconstruct as they're calling it."

She said while there were concerns from the local community about public health issues some of the bereaved wanted the tower to stay - " a lot of people regarded it as a sacred site".

The fire on 14 June 2017 was originally caused by a faulty fridge in a fourth-floor flat and quickly spread around the block because it was covered in highly flammable cladding.

A public inquiry concluded in September the disaster had been the result of numerous government failures, and failure of the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible cladding because of the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold it, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.

Many bereaved families have called for criminal action to be brought against some of those implicated in the inquiry but police and prosecutors have said that no decision will be made on potential charges until the end of 2026.

In a 2023 report, the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission set out a series of recommendations for a "sacred space", designed to be a "peaceful place for remembering and reflecting".

It said the space should include a garden, monument and dedicated space for the private expression of grief and mourning for the families who lost loved ones.

A shortlist of five potential design teams was announced last month, and a winning design team is set to be selected this summer.

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