Angela Rayner defends handling of Grenfell Tower meeting
Last week, Angela Rayner defended her dealing with a meeting with the family who lost a loved one and the survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire, after some attendees described it as a “car accident” .
The 24-storey tower will be gradually demolished, nearly eight years after a fire killed 72 people, the deputy prime minister said at the meeting Wednesday.
After years of debate on the future of the Tower, the decision responded differently from those affected by the tragedy.
Rayner told her on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that she would not feel like she was “proactive” during the meeting, saying: If anyone feels that way, then I’ll be sincerely frustrated by it.”
Kimia Zabihyan of Grenfell from a relative’s family called it “accused” but said Rayner appeared to attend the meeting with “best intention.”
Grenfell United also represents some bereavement families and survivors, who had no one supported the program at the meeting and called for Ignore their wishes “shameful and unforgivable.”
“I think what I’m trying to do is to have a really tough meeting and explain to people … It’s going to be a lot of pain for people to know everything I said in that room that night, and people will be frustrated.” Reiner said.
The government said the decision to demolish the building was officially announced Friday after engineers informed the tower that it had suffered major damage.
It added that experts suggested that the condition of the building “continues to worsen over time” and that it only remains stable due to other protection measures taken.
The engineer also said that it is not feasible to keep many floors of the building as part of the permanent memorial.
Some want the tower in West London to stay long-lasting to remind the tragedy, while others ask for it to be removed altogether.
Rayner, who has also been charged with failing to negotiate properly with survivors, said “no consensus on the future of the building” but has attended several meetings with different family and community groups.
“I felt that weighing all the different conversations I had, as well as the engineering report, and in fact, the only way forward was to be sensitive to make sure we started lifting the tower to the ground, but we had a lasting memorial that site,” she told the plan.
She said she was determined to work with her family to build “lasting memorials” to “do justice for the divine place.”
The 2017 fire claimed 72 lives, initially caused by a fridge failure in a fourth-floor apartment, but was quickly spread across the block as it was covered by highly flammable cladding.
Public survey concluded in September that the disaster was a result of many failures in government and construction industries.
The Glenfelta Memorial Council has been consulting memorial plans for the tower area.
Five design teams have been shortlisted to create a memorial, with the winners aiming to submit their program applications by the end of 2026.
