{UAH} ‘Hundreds’ died in Grenfell Tower fire, says shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott

Michael Ocaya s/o Ocure and Afuwa Kasule,

This is the public comment by the Labour Party on the Grenfell Tower Tragedy.

Thank

The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington also blames the disaster on Tory attitudes towards social housing

• Shehab Khan 
• @shehabkhan 
• 3 hours ago
• 495 comments

3K

Click to follow
Indy Politics

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott responds to the statement by Home Secretary Amber Rudd to MPs in the House of Commons PA

Hundreds of people died in the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Diane Abbott has claimed.

The current death toll is at 79 but the shadow Home Secretary said she expected this to rise into the hundreds. 

The MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington blamed the disaster on Conservative attitudes towards social housing.

READ MORE

• Kensington resident 'will move out if Grenfell victims move in'
• 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' cover for Grenfell victims hits No.1
• Dozens of angry residents refuse to leave evacuated Camden estate
• Theresa May 'should have held Cobra meeting after Grenfell Tower fire'

"Grenfell Tower is not just an accident; Grenfell Tower is not just an unfortunate incident. Those hundreds of people that died are a direct consequence of Tory attitudes in social housing," Ms Abbott told a conference of the Labour Progress group.

"The Tories think people in social housing are second-class citizens. And, as we have seen from Grenfell House, they are offering them second-class standards of safety. So, a direct consequence of that. A direct consequence of outsourcing ... and a direct consequence of deregulation."

After the event, Ms Abbott reaffirmed her belief the current death toll would be revised upwards.

"I think we are going to find that the numbers of people that have died will be in triple figures, just because it's a 23-storey (sic) block," she said.

Ms Abbott said people in Government needed to answer questions about why they did not implement recommendations made after previous fires.

The fire, which tore into the 24-storey high-rise in Kensington, has left scores of people without homes.  

0:00

/

1:43

 

Locals claim Grenfell Tower fire death toll 'in hundreds'

Jeremy Corbyn and senior Labour MPs, including Ms Abbott, had called for properties left vacant in Kensington and Chelsea by overseas investors to be "requisitioned" in order to rehouse those who had been left homeless.

The Government has now announced that survivors will permanently be rehoused in a £2bn luxury apartment block in Kensington.

Some 68 flats have been bought by the Government at the upmarket Kensington Row development just off Kensington High Street, Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, said.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire

• 51show all

The Department for Communities and Local Government said the "expectation is that these new properties will be offered as one of the options to permanently rehouse residents from Grenfell Tower".

The properties are "newly built social housing" at a site where private homes are on offer from £1,575,000 to £8.5m.  

• More about: 
• Diane Abbott
• Grenfell Tower

3K

Reuse content

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com