Starmer apologises for Grenfell fire and says state ‘failed to protect’ families

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that survivors, grieving families and the community around Grenfell had been “severely let down” before, during and after the fire that killed 72 people in 2017.

His apology followed the publication of the final report of the inquiry into the disaster, led by retired judge Sir Martin Moor-Bick, which blamed the fire on “decades of failure” by the government and the construction industry.

Speaking to the families of those killed in the fire, some of whom were present in the gallery of the House of Commons, he said: “Firstly, on behalf of the British state, I would like to apologise to each and every one of you and to all the families affected by this tragedy.”

“This should never have happened. The country failed in its most basic duty to protect you and your loved ones, the people we are supposed to serve, and for that I am deeply sorry.”

The Prime Minister signalled his support for calls to ban companies involved in the disaster from awarding government contracts and said the Government would support the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the fire.

He said it was “imperative that those responsible are held fully accountable, including through criminal proceedings, and that this happens as quickly as possible.”

Reflecting on a private visit to Grenfell Tower two weeks ago, the Prime Minister said it had inspired in him a “personal determination to make the legacy of Grenfell Tower one of the defining changes in our country that I want to achieve as Prime Minister”.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the inquiry report was “a damning indictment of over 30 years of consecutive state failure” and painted a picture of “systemic indifference, failure and, in some notable cases, dishonesty and greed”.

He joined the apology offered by his predecessor, Baroness Theresa May, immediately after the disaster, and said he wanted to “express my deepest apologies to the families and victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy”.

He said: “The state has let you down and it must never do that again.”

Baroness May herself said in a statement that national and local government, regulators and industry “must all acknowledge their part in the history and series of events that led to this tragedy”.

She said the report was “an important step in giving the Grenfell community the answers it deserves after 72 people died, deaths that we now know could have been avoided”.

Other politicians also joined in the calls for action. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, for example, demanded that those responsible for the fire be banned from awarding government contracts and called on prosecutors to bring charges against them.

He said: “The investigation makes it crystal clear that all of these deaths were entirely avoidable and that the residents of Grenfell Tower paid the price for systematic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the inquiry report must not become “another dusty book sitting on a shelf in Whitehall” and called for dangerous cladding to be removed from all buildings “as soon as possible”.