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| Grenfell Tower fire: Theresa May apologises for 'failure of the state' after widely criticised response | Grenfell Tower fire: Theresa May apologises for 'failure of the state' after widely criticised response |
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| Theresa May has apologised for a "failure of the state" over the Grenfell Fire disaster that killed at least 79 people. | Theresa May has apologised for a "failure of the state" over the Grenfell Fire disaster that killed at least 79 people. |
| Speaking in the House of Commons as MPs debate the Queen's Speech, the Prime Minister said there had been failures "local and national" in the hours immediately after the fire. | Speaking in the House of Commons as MPs debate the Queen's Speech, the Prime Minister said there had been failures "local and national" in the hours immediately after the fire. |
| "Let me be absolutely clear: the support for the families on the ground in the initial hours was not good enough ", she said. "People were left without belongings,without roofs over their heads, without even basic information about what had happened, what they should do and where they should go to seek help | "Let me be absolutely clear: the support for the families on the ground in the initial hours was not good enough ", she said. "People were left without belongings,without roofs over their heads, without even basic information about what had happened, what they should do and where they should go to seek help |
| "That was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most. As Prime Minister, I apologise for that failure." | "That was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most. As Prime Minister, I apologise for that failure." |
| "As Prime Minister I have taken responsibility for doing what we can to put things right. That is why each family whose home was destroyed is receiving a down payment from the emergency fund so they can buy food, clothes and other essentials. And all those who have lose their homes will be rehoused within three weeks". | |
| Ms May said the "whole country was heartbroken by the utter devastation" caused by the fire and re-iterated that there will be an independent enquiry led by a judge. Those affected by the fire will have their legal costs paid, she added. | |
| The Prime Minister has faced criticism over her inital handling of the disaster. She visited the tower they day after the fire but did not meet directly with residents affected. When she returned the next day she was loudly heckled and forced to leave under a heavy police presence. | |
| Questions have also been asked as to why successive housing ministers did not act to bring forward an investigatiion into safety conditions in tower blocks. | |