Residents affected by the Grenfell Tower atrocity were passionate and angry during a lengthy exchange with the Prime Minister, a bishop who sat with them revealed.
The meeting comes as Cdr Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police confirmed the death toll now stands at 58
Sixteen "very ordinary people" sat in Downing Street to bring their concerns to Theresa May in an "unprecedented" meeting and finally felt they were listened to, the Bishop of Kensington, Dr Graham Tomlin said.
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He is hopeful the 2½-hour meeting, attended by victims, residents, community leaders and volunteers, was the starting point for a process of “lasting change”.
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“I’m positive because I think it was a real chance for local residents, people affected by this tragedy, to voice their concerns directly to the prime minister so that she could hear them,” said the bishop.
“That’s why I’m positive about it, because I think in the past local residents here have not always been listened to.”
He said that feeling of being ignored is a source of much “deep frustration”, and told how people have been left feeling “that decisions are taken about their lives and their homes that they are not party to”.
He described the residents as “brilliant” in how they raised and explained their concerns to Mrs May.
"I thought the way they expressed themselves with a mixture of passion and reason was fantastic, and I hope it's the beginning of a process, not the end of a process, the beginning of a process of real listening between Government, RBKC (the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council), local residents, that will bring about lasting change."
May statement
Following the meeting, Mrs May released a strongly-worded statement in which she said on-the-ground support for families in the immediate aftermath of the blaze “was not good enough”.
She said she has ordered daily progress reports on housing for those affected, and vowed the public inquiry into the disaster will be “open and transparent”.
Dr Tomlin said the residents had gone from living normal lives before the calamity to bringing their frustrations to the very top of government.
He said: “Clearly it’s quite unprecedented for 16 very ordinary people, who this time last week were walking their dogs or talking to each other in the streets around here and north Kensington, actually to be in 10 Downing Street talking face-to-face with the prime minister. I think it was a good thing to do.”
Asked if there were angry exchanges, he replied: “We tried to hold it well as a meeting. There was passion, there was anger, but there was good, hard, reasoned argument used by the residents.”
Questioned as to whether the anger followed Mrs May’s initial visit to the west London site during which she did not meet residents, he replied: “We didn’t talk directly about that.”
Dr Tomlin said he believed residents left the meeting feeling “reassured that they were listened to”, but added “time will tell as to whether it makes a difference.”
Queen’s message
In a message released on her official birthday, the Queen said it was “difficult to escape a very sombre mood”, following recent attacks and deaths in London and Manchester.
On Saturday, NHS England said 19 people were being treated in hospital, including 10 in critical care.
Search and rescue teams from London Fire Brigade reached the second from top floor inside the Tower on Saturday.
On Friday, grief over the disaster turned into anger as protesters took to the streets to vent over the fire, the death toll for which continues to escalate, with dozens more deaths feared.
Mrs May was greeted with cries of “coward” and “shame on you” as she returned to the site of the devastating fire in west London on Friday.
Later, demonstrators stormed the offices of Kensington and Chelsea Council over its handling of the crisis amid concerns that earlier renovation work was linked to the dramatic spread of the blaze.
Hundreds of protesters also marched on Whitehall, central London, to voice their frustration at the government's response to the fire, which ripped through the tower block in north Kensington on Wednesday morning.
‘Hellish experience’
Firefighters who rushed towards danger have spoken of their ordeal and their fears that the tower could have collapsed like the World Trade Centre.
Leon Whitley (34) described the scene as “hellish”, adding: “It was crazy. The screams were coming from all directions. I don’t think I will ever forget them.”
More than £3 million has been raised for the victims of the fire, while Downing Street has pledged a £5 million fund for emergency supplies, food and clothing for victims amid concerns the death toll will rise, with more than 70 people in total still believed to be unaccounted for.
Two of the dead have been confirmed as 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye and Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali (23).
Ms Saye was in her flat on the 20th floor when the fire struck, with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s.
Tottenham MP David Lammy confirmed the news on Twitter, writing: “May you rest in peace Khadija Saye. God bless your beautiful soul. My heart breaks today. I mourn the tragic loss of a wonderful young woman.”
The Queen and Duke of Cambridge went to temporary relief centres on Friday where they met volunteers and residents who had lost everything.
Confirming the latest death toll, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said the tower remained “in a very hazardous state” but there was “nothing to suggest at this time that the fire was started deliberately”.
Mr Cundy vowed police “will get to the answer of what has happened and why”, adding: “If criminal offences have been committed it is us who will investigate that.”
The council said 110 households had been given temporary accommodation by Friday morning, and added that it was working to find more permanent homes.
But the authority’s latest statement said: “While we will try to do our utmost to ensure those affected remain in or near the borough, given the number of households involved, it is possible the council will have to explore housing options that may become available in other parts of the capital.”
– (PA)