Silent David Cameron accused of failing to give Grenfell families 'respect' (original) (raw)

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David Cameron accused of failing to give Grenfell families 'respect they deserve' after silence

Former PM David Cameron was glaringly quiet after the public inquiry criticised his Government’s drive to slash red tape and regulation in the lead up to the 2017 Grenfell fire

'People have paid the price of David Cameron’s decisions with their lives,' bereaved families said

Bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire have accused David Cameron of failing to give them “the respect they deserve” after he stayed silent about a report into the disaster.

The former Prime Minister was glaringly quiet after the public inquiry criticised his Government’s drive to slash red tape and regulation in the lead up to the 2017 disaster. Under Lord Cameron, who was PM from 2010 to 2016, deregulation policies meant that if one new regulation policy was introduced, two would be cut or changed. This was later extended to “one in, three out” in a bid to keep costs down for businesses.

In a damning conclusion, the public inquiry on Wednesday said the deregulatory agenda “dominated” thinking at the Department of Communities and Local Government “to such an extent that even matters affecting the safety of life were ignored, delayed or disregarded”.

Bereaved families criticised that Lord Cameron 'had nothing to say in reaction to the report' (

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Getty Images)

Grenfell United, a group of bereaved families and survivors, said: “We’ve known for years that it was deregulation and a lack of disregard for human life that killed our loved ones. It was David Cameron and his government that opened the floodgates for corrupt businesses to take control of the building industry.

“People have paid the price of David Cameron’s decisions with their lives. And people up and down the country are still going to sleep in unsafe businesses. Yet, he stayed quiet yesterday and had nothing to say in reaction to the report. Your silence doesn’t protect you. But the least you can do is give families who lost loved ones the respect they deserve and take accountability for your role in the Grenfell Tower fire.”

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Lord Cameron, who served as Foreign Secretary under Rishi Sunak, appeared in the House of Lords on Wednesday, the day the final report was published. He defended plans for a Holocaust memorial in central London in his first contribution since the Tories were brutally defeated at the General Election The Tory peer backed the proposals that were spearheaded by Lord Pickles, the Communities Secretary who served in his Government and who was criticised in the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry.

Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time of the disaster, responded on Wednesday to say national and local government, regulators and industry “must all acknowledge their part in the history and series of events that led to this tragedy”.