Voting against Grenfell inquiry recommendations like 'kick in the teeth'

8 September 2020, 15:10 | Updated: 8 September 2020, 17:37

'MP for Grenfell has not represented us today'

By EJ Ward

After MPs voted against fire safety recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry one caller said it was like a "kick in the teeth".

Shah felt he had to call in to speak to LBC's Maajid Nawaz "on behalf of bereaved families and those who lost their lives" in the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The caller told LBC he lost his mother and his auntie in the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14 2017, which claimed 72 lives.

"I was actually a witness to people in their flats waiting to be rescued, waving their phones to show the firefighters where they were," he told Maajid.

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The subject was raised after Tories MPs voted against bringing recommendations from the Grenfell Tower inquiry into law.

Shah told LBC the result of the vote in Parliament was like "a kick in the teeth by the Conservative MP for Kensington."

The amendment was defeated by 188 votes to 318, majority 130.

The caller said he was "almost in tears" after MPs voted down the "evidence-based" recommendations from the inquiry.

"If this is voted down, where do we go next?" he asked.

She said the MP for the area had "certainly not represented us".

The Bill amends regulations in a bid to offer greater clarity over who is responsible for fire safety in blocks of flats.

The legislation was developed in response to the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14 2017, which claimed 72 lives.

Labour wanted to amend the Bill to ensure the Government implements recommendations made by the first phase of the Grenfell Inquiry.

The party’s new clause one would have required owners or managers of flats to share information with their local fire service about the design and materials of the external walls.

They would also have been required to carry out regular inspections of lifts and individual flat entrance doors, while evacuation and fire safety instructions must be shared with residents of the building.

The Conservative MP for the area Felicity Buchan accused Labour of misrepresenting the vote in the House of Commons yesterday and is wilfully politicising the Grenfell tragedy."