British Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a formal apology on behalf of the state to the victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 72 lives. Acknowledging the government's failure to protect those affected, Starmer expressed deep regret and recognized the victims' ongoing sense of betrayal. He emphasized that the tragedy should never have occurred, stating the country failed in its fundamental duty to safeguard its citizens.
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#BritishPM #KeirStarmer #GrenfellTower #RishiSunak #UKParliament #Apology #Worldnews #Oneindia #Oneindianews
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NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. Speaker, I want to speak directly to the bereaved families, the survivors, and those
00:07in the immediate Grenfell community, some of whom are with us in the gallery today.
00:14Sir Martin concluded this morning, and I'm afraid there's no way of repeating this
00:21that won't be painful. He said the simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were
00:27all avoidable, and that those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number
00:32of years and in a number of different ways, by, as the report lays out in full, just about
00:40every institution responsible for ensuring their safety.
00:45Mr. Speaker, in the face of an injustice so painful, so deserving of anger, words can
00:52begin to lose their meaning. Seven years still waiting for the justice that you deserve.
01:01I want to say very clearly on behalf of the country, you've been let down so badly before,
01:08during, and in the aftermath of this tragedy. And while Sir Martin sets out a catalogue
01:16of appalling industry failures, for which there must now be full accountability, he
01:23also finds, and I quote, decades of failure by central government.
01:30He concludes that in the years between the fire at Knowsley Heights in 1991 and the fire
01:37at Grenfell Tower in 2017, there were many opportunities for the government to identify
01:43the risks posed by the use of combustible cladding panels and insulation. And he concludes,
01:51and I quote, by 2016, the department was well aware of those risks, but failed to act on
01:59what they knew. He further finds that the department itself was poorly run, and the
02:06government's deregulatory agenda dominated the department's thinking to such an extent
02:11that even matters affecting the safety of life were ignored, delayed, or disregarded.
02:20So Mr Speaker, I want to start with an apology on behalf of the British state to each and
02:28every one of you, and indeed to all of the families affected by this tragedy. It should
02:35never have happened. The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty, to protect
02:43you and your loved ones, the people that we are here to serve, and I am deeply sorry.
02:52I also want to express my admiration for the strength it must have taken to relive these
02:56events when giving your evidence to the inquiry, and indeed, to see written down today the
03:05circumstances that led to the death of your loved ones. After all you've been through,
03:12you may feel you're always one step away from another betrayal.