Irate citizens in London heckled Prime Minister Theresa May and stormed the headquarters of a local council to protest what they saw as a slow and inadequate response to an apartment block fire whose death toll is expected to hit 100.
May is facing tough questions about safety procedures and construction safety after a fire that incinerated a 24-story apartment tower in West London. The Prime Minister, who had been criticized for meeting with rescue workers but not with victims, returned to the area where the fire took place, and announced $6.4 million fund to pay for emergency supplies, food, clothes and other costs. Outside St. Clement’s Church, where Mrs. May made her announcement, angry residents shouted “Coward!” and heckled the PM.
Nearby, dozens of angry residents entered the Town Hall of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns Grenfell Tower, to request a meeting with officials and to present a list of demands. Protesters chanting "we want justice" stormed the entrance of a local town hall in London on Friday after a deadly fire at a block of flats with 30 people confirmed dead. As the protesters sought to gain entry to an upper floor, police tried to bar their way. A scuffle broke out. The protesters chanted "We want justice" and "bring them out."
Demonstrators also gathered outside Britain’s Department for Communities and Local Government to demand justice for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
Whole families are among those who remain unaccounted for since the blaze early Wednesday, which police fear was so devastating that some victims might never be identified. More than 70 people have been named by relatives as missing.
Thirty people are now confirmed to have died, but it is feared the figure could rise above 100. Twenty-four people remain in hospital, 12 of them in critical care.
UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that Theresa May and her government should be held into account for the tower block fire in London.
Speaking to LBC Radio on Wednesday, Corbyn said budget cuts and inaction on part of the government might have led to the blaze in the 24-story Grenfell Tower.
“If you deny local authorities the funding they need, then there is a price that’s paid," the main opposition leader argued.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/7121
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