Protests in London as Theresa May meets tower fire victims

Hundreds of Grenfell Tower protesters staged an impromptu march on Whitehall, angry with the response from the British government following Wednesday’s disaster.

The group brought the heart of London to a standstill as they tried to march from the Home Office headquarters to Downing Street. The crowd, shouting “May must go”, “justice for Grenfell” and “blood on your hands”, were met with a cordon of police officers as they marched up Horseguards Parade, coming to a stop outside the entrance to Downing Street.

Organisers estimated at least 1,400 were involved, with many waving placards.

Earlier protesters entered Kensington and Chelsea town hall, chanting: “We want justice.” Dozens of people ran up the stairs of the town hall foyer, where they scuffled with police officers who tried to block their path.

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One demonstrator, who gave her name as Leila, captured the mood with her placard, which said, simply: “I’m livid.”

She said: “I’ve come out here because people had no hope. They lost hope with 999, they started WhatsApping their friends and families to say goodbye.

“People were telling them to stay in the building, but they had hope because they listened. Use your initiative, don’t trust them, that’s what I’m saying. There are no words. I’m angry, I have children. The screams, the faces, the trauma. Can you imagine children at the windows screaming for their mummies and daddies?”

Meanwhile, Theresa May faced cries of “coward” and “shame on you” as she returned to Kensington to meet victims on Friday.

The British prime minister met the group of victims, residents, volunteers and community leaders at St Clement’s Church close to the scene of the horrific blaze shortly before 5pm.

Police presence

There was a large police presence which had to hold back an angry crowd outside the church. One woman wept saying it was because the prime minister declined to speak to anyone outside the meeting which lasted less than hour. Police broke up a scuffle between members of the crowd as the Ms May’s car drove off.

Ms May had cited security concerns for not visiting earlier, but they did not prevent the Queen and Prince William from attending the Westway sports centre on Friday, a makeshift relief facility for the displaced and bereaved.

While the monarch and her grandson were warmly received, they were not totally isolated from the anger in the neighbourhood, as the distraught friend of a missing family beckoned them to hear his story, prompting the prince to apologise and promise that he would come back.

Simmering resentment towards the government was further fuelled as the Kensington and Chelsea council confused residents with its rehousing plan for displaced tenants. It said not all tenants would be given new homes in North Kensington but later appeared to row back, claiming its understanding of the scenario had changed.

Demonstrators gathered outside Kensington town hall in the afternoon and some gained entry to the building.

Protest organisers were encouraging the crowd to remain in place until the council leaders pledged an independent investigation and rehousing for all those affected.

Carolyne Hill, 39, from Brixton, said she came to the Kensington protest to “make a stand for my fellow Londoners”. She said: “I believe that the council is supposed to protect its people. This council committed basic gross negligence in providing basic human rights in their fire safety. People died in their homes.

“The council is following legislation made by the government, the government has made cuts in every single borough. This is the result of our government, our councils not caring about their people. They’ve put profit over people now for far too long. This is the result.”

Heckled

Earlier on Friday, residents heckled Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons and a former challenger for the Tory leadership, when she arrived in the area.

The official number of deaths has sparked anger and confusion within the local community, where people believe the true number is considerably higher. The severity of the damage caused by the blaze has restricted the emergency services’ efforts to find and identify victims.

Kensington and Chelsea council had attempted to climb down from a statement that suggested it would not be able to house all survivors of the blazer in the local area.

A spokesman said the statement sent out at 1.46pm on Friday was wrong.

It had said: “While we will try 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.”

But later a council spokesman said: “Our understanding has changed. Once our housing people have looked at this in greater detail we will be issuing a new statement.”

Lines of volunteers emerged from the Notting Hill Methodist church on Friday carrying hundreds of boxes from the church to a lorry parked outside, while at Latimer, a similar operation was under way.

Guardian Service/PA