UK remembers deadly tower blaze, six months on

LONDON

Britain marked on Thursday the six-month anniversary of London's Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 71 lives, with most survivors still awaiting permanent housing and voicing scepticism about an official inquiry into the tragedy.

Members of the royal family including Princes Charles, William and Harry joined Prime Minister Theresa May, survivors and families of the dead at a national memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

DISASTER

"This is a nation that grieves at the unspeakable tragedy, loss and hurt of that June day," David Ison, Dean of St Paul's, told the crowd.

While the service was an opportunity for quiet reflection, anger at the disaster is still simmering.

The fire, which started with a faulty refrigerator on the fourth floor, engulfed the 24-storey west London tower in the early hours of June 14, rapidly spreading up the new cladding on the outside.

The painstaking process to identify all the remains found in the tower took months.

"December 14 will be a special day for our community," said Shahin Sadafi, who chairs the Grenfell United survivors' group.

"We are coming together to remember the loved ones we lost in the fire, to unite as a community and to start to build hope for the future."

May is under pressure from victims' families, survivors and political opponents to build confidence in the public inquiry into the fire.

"We will welcome her, but she will have to come and face us and we will be asking those questions of her. It's not much to ask," said Sandra Ruiz, who lost her niece in the fire.

As the service ended, a "Green For Grenfell" banner was held aloft and carried out of the cathedral, followed by bereaved relatives carrying white roses and photographs of their loved ones.

Retired appeal court judge Martin Moore-Bick is presiding over the probe.

PUBLIC HOUSING

However, a 16,000-strong petition called for a diverse panel to assist him, fearing he would not have an understanding of life inside public housing.

A separate police investigation is under way to determine whether any criminal charges can be brought against individuals or corporate entities. It is expected to run until late 2018.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, May promised that survivors would be guaranteed new homes on the same terms, within three weeks, as close as possible to the north Kensington area where they had been living.

However, of the 208 households needing rehousing, 118 are facing Christmas in emergency accommodation — many in hotels — or living with friends, said Grenfell United.

Some 42 families have moved into permanent accommodation, while a further 48 have accepted offers for permanent new housing but are still living in temporary quarters.

Many families do not want to accept temporary accommodation, fearing they will be parked there and forgotten about.

"We continue to do everything we can to support those affected, and take the necessary steps to make sure it can never happen again," May told parliament on Wednesday.

The Kensington and Chelsea local authority, which ran the tower, has been criticised for its handling of the aftermath and for not heeding residents' warnings about fire safety in the building.

Residents had voiced concerns about a lack of sprinklers and the single staircase escape route — a common feature of 1970s social housing tower blocks.

New local authority leader Elizabeth Campbell said she understood the anger and out of respect did not attend the service at St Paul's Cathedral, which was chosen due to its national importance.

The service featured musical performances, singing from an Islamic girls' choir and a poetry recital by Maria Jafari, who lost her elderly father, Ali Yawar Jafari, in the fire.

"I wish nobody could have this in the whole life, in the whole world, I wish nobody would have to go through all these things," Jafari said afterwards.

The service will be followed in the evening by a monthly memorial march near the tower.

The charred ruin still serves as a tragic reminder in north Kensington, a poor, multi-cultural enclave in one of Europe's plushest city districts.

Some residents claim the flammable cladding was put on to make the concrete tower less of an eyesore for its wealthier neighbours.

"Life in the shadow of the tower is a daily struggle to repair our fractured community, lest we forget what happened that night," said Jacqui Haynes, chair of the wider Lancaster West estate's residents' association.