All 72 deaths ‘could have been avoided’, investigation concludes

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologised on Wednesday “in the name of the State” to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people in 2017.

“This should never have happened”he said from parliament, apologizing “on behalf of the British State”. “The country has failed in its most basic duty: to protect you and your loved ones, the people we are supposed to serve. And for that I am deeply sorry.”he said, shortly after the release of an investigation report into the fire that is damning for the government and some construction sectors.

The 72 deaths would have “all could have been avoided”said the chairman of the inquiry, Martin Moore-Bick. “The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all preventable, and that those who lived in the tower were seriously betrayed for years… by those who were responsible for the safety of the building and its occupants,” said the retired former judge, presenting the findings of the investigation.

“Decades of failures”

According to a damning investigation report published this Wednesday, this fire is “the culmination of decades of failures by central government and other bodies with responsibility for the construction sector”.

The document also highlights the “systematic dishonesty” building materials companies. They have adopted “deliberate strategies (…) to manipulate the testing process, distort data and mislead the market”the report accuses.

Firefighters criticized

London Fire Brigade firefighters have also come under heavy criticism, with senior officers described as “complacent”They failed to learn the lessons of a previous fire in 2009, which “should have alerted” the service “on the shortcomings of its capacity to fight fires in high-rise buildings”.

The government will ensure that this “can never happen again”Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised.