Grenfell survivors barred from council meeting about fire
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Version 0 of 8. Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster have been banned from the first meeting of senior councillors since the fire amid fears of “disruption”. Kensington and Chelsea council is to hold a private cabinet meeting led by the council leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, who has been widely criticised in the wake of fire. It will be held behind closed doors to avoid a repeat of protests on the Friday after the fire when angry residents stormed the town hall. Councillors will discuss the Grenfell Tower fire, according to a notice on the local authority’s website, joined by support officers and “invited guests (if any)”. The notice says: “Please note this meeting will be held entirely in private session, pursuant to Standing Order 31.01, in the light of the risk of disruption (as witnessed on Friday 16 June) and consequent security and public safety concerns. “As such it will be open only to council members, support officers and invited guests (if any). The public minutes of this meeting will be published, in due course, on the council website.” It is unclear whether any survivors have been invited to the meeting as guests. The council has come under intense criticism for its response to the disaster, with many residents claiming they were left to fend for themselves. Its chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, resigned last week, after pressure from the communities secretary, Sajid Javid. Calls have been made for Paget-Brown to follow, with London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, demanding the resignation of the entire council leadership. On 16 June, dozens of protesters stormed Kensington town hall in west London as anger boiled over about its handling of the situation, with crowds yelling: “We want justice now.” |