Friday 16 June 2017

London fire: Protesters storm town hall




Protesters demanding help for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire have stormed Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall with a list of demands.
Between 50 and 60 people broke off from a protest outside to go into the council building.
One member of the public said people made homeless needed help "right now".
After meeting survivors near Grenfell Tower, Theresa May announced a £5m fund to pay for emergency supplies, food, clothes and other costs.
There were angry scenes outside the Clement James Centre, in North Kensington, where the meeting had been held.
The Press Association reported one woman was crying at the scene saying it was because the prime minister had declined to speak to anyone outside.
Earlier, the Queen and Prince William visited a relief centre for the victims, while the missing could number about 70, the BBC understands.
Police say at least 30 people died as a result of the west London blaze and are likely to be among the 70. Three of those who died have been identified.
There was nothing to suggest the fire was started deliberately, police said.
The town hall protest began at around 15:00 BST and scores have since joined it.

At around 16:30 BST, people began to rush up the steps and make their way into the building.
One member of the public said people made homeless by the fire needed help "right now", adding: "Nobody knows what is happening. People are so angry. Those people shouldn't be sleeping in the street".
The organisers of the protest said council leaders would not come out to talk to them, but had released a statement, promising to rehouse as many people locally as they could and to provide funding for those affected.
However, they refused to give out the number of people who lived in the tower block - which was one of the protesters' demands, organisers said.

Public 'not satisfied' with answers
Mustafa Al Mansur, who organised the protest, said the council's response was "flimsy" with "no concrete answers".
"The people were not satisfied with the answers," he told BBC News. "The people were getting frustrated and they walked towards the building. They did not force themselves inside. They got inside the main building and were in the foyer, just speaking."
Police then arrived on the scene and formed a barricade, which Mr Al Mansur said led to "physical confrontation" between the two sides.
"We would like the chief executive of the council to make public commitments on what the council is going to do for the victims of this borough, and for all the other buildings in the borough that [could] stand the same fate at Grenfell Towers."
Credit: BBC

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