Grenfell Tower: Police urged to immediately seize documents

British Labour MP David Lammy has called on the prime minister and London's Metropolitan Police to immediately seize all relevant Grenfell Tower documents.

He said that after speaking to residents, suspicion of a cover-up is rising and Theresa May and investigators must ensure all pertinent documents are protected.

Scores of people perished when a massive fire ripped through the 24-storey council apartment complex in London with the death toll currently at 58.

The Tottenham MP said: “Within the community, trust in the authorities is falling through the floor and a suspicion of a cover-up is rising.

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“The prime minister needs to act immediately to ensure that all evidence is protected so that everyone culpable for what happened at Grenfell Tower is held to account and feels the full force of the law.

“We need urgent action now to make sure that all records and documents relating to the refurbishment and management of Grenfell Tower are protected.”

Mr Lammy added that justice can only done if all records — emails, minutes of meetings, correspondence with contractors, safety assessments, specifications and reports — are preserved.

Petition

Meanwhile, the British Home Office has assisted the family of Grenfell Tower victim Mohammad Alhajali in “making arrangements for their travel to the UK”.

The 23-year-old Syrian refugee was the first fatality of the disaster to be formally identified by police.

More than 85,000 people have signed a petition calling for his parents to be granted visas for the UK so they can attend his funeral.

A Home Office spokesman said on Saturday: “We made contact with Mr Alhajali’s family yesterday and assisted them in making arrangements for their travel to the UK in these terribly sad circumstances.”

Mr Alhajali’s family said in a statement: “Mohammad was a very amazing and kind person. He gave love to everyone. He came to the UK because he had ambitions and aims for his life and for his family.”

Sombre

Eve Allison, a Conservative who sits on Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council, said it would have been “ideal” if refurbishments to Grenfell Tower had looked at both the outside and the inside of the building.

She told BBC Breakfast: “The mood is sombre and the community continue to do what we can. The danger is when hope starts to fade, and from hope then what you’ll find is despair.

“It is on our watch, it’s our responsibility, we do have a duty of care to all our residents and whatever findings and failings come out, they have to come out soon because all the community, the victims, the families, people need answers.

“All too often we’re a little bit too concerned with how the immediate streetscape looks, how a building fits into other buildings, does it detract from the immediate streetscape.

PA