Grenfell campaigners say they have been told tower block will be demolished

Grenfell campaigners say they have been told by the deputy prime minister that the tower block will be demolished.

A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, a group representing some bereaved families, told the PA news agency that Angela Rayner had “announced the decision that the tower will have to be carefully deconstructed”.

The government has previously said there will be no changes to the site before the eighth anniversary of the fire disaster, which claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017.

It is expected more details will be set out by ministers by the end of the week.

The Grenfell Next Of Kin spokesperson said the decision around the tower’s future was “obviously a very sensitive and difficult” one.

They added: “For the next of kin of the deceased, that building is a shrine and the death place of their immediate families, their brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children – but they understand the hard facts around safety.”

Engineering experts have said that while the tower remains stable, and it is safe for people to live, work and study near by, its condition will worsen over time and there is no realistic prospect of bringing it back into use.

The latest advice issued to the government in September was that the building, or the part of it that was significantly damaged, should be taken down.

What is left of the tower has stood in place since the tragedy, with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart accompanied by the words “forever in our hearts”.

Views have varied on what should happen to the site. Some of the bereaved and survivors feel the tower should remain in place until there are criminal prosecutions over the failings which led to the disaster.

The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the disaster was the result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

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

A government spokesperson said: “The priority for the deputy mrime 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.”

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