Michael Gove apologises to Grenfell victims’ families after ‘faulty and ambiguous’ government guidance allowed tragedy to occur
Michael Gove has apologised to the families affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy and admitted that “faulty and ambiguous” government guidance was part of the reason why the fire occurred.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the housing secretary said it is “undeniably the case” that official guidance – which was widely seen to allow highly flammable cladding on tall buildings – was wrong.
However, he added that responsibility for the fire at the residential tower block in North Kensington, west London, in June 2017 – which killed 72 people – extends beyond the Conservative government.
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“I think that if you look at what happened to Grenfell, there were lots of factors but yes, government collectively has to take some responsibility,” Mr Gove said.
“It is undeniably the case that the system of building regulation was not right,” he told the programme.
Asked if he would apologise, Mr Gove said he “absolutely would”.
“I remember visiting the site just a couple of days after the fire and thinking that it was horrific that this had happened.
“The more that I discovered about the circumstances the more horrified I was.
“There were people in that building who had warned beforehand that they were in potential danger. The warnings were not heeded.”
“I’m the first, I hope, to acknowledge that we haven’t done right by the bereaved and the residents and survivors from Grenfell and that is one very, very important mission.
“But it’s also the case that there been people who have been effectively imprisoned in their own flats for too long.”
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Grenfell: ‘We’ll fight to the end’
A public inquiry after the tragedy, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is yet to deliver its final report.
But evidence submitted to the inquiry prompted Mr Gove to tell The Sunday Times: “There was a system of regulation that was faulty.
“The government did not think hard enough, or police effectively enough, the whole system of building safety. Undoubtedly.”
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On Monday Mr Gove will announce a six-week deadline for developers to sign a government contract to fix their unsafe towers – or be banned from the market.
He told Sky News that those who do not sign will face consequences.
“Well, we’re going to publish it tomorrow and we are going to give every developer a little window of six weeks during which we hope they will sign,” Mr Gove said.
“Some have already indicated that they will – and I don’t want to pre-empt the speculation about some of the developers who will – but all the indications are that the overwhelming majority will and those who don’t will face consequences if they don’t sign the contract.
“We’ll make sure that in effect they won’t be able to build anything more in future.”
More than 70 people died when the Grenfell Tower went up in flames in 2017. Pic: AP
It is understood that Mr Gove will use the so-called “responsible actor scheme”, to be established in the spring, to block such companies from getting planning or building control approval.
On Friday, Sky News learnt that major companies including Barratt Developments and Persimmon are preparing for the imminent signing of a legally-binding contract with the government that could ultimately cost the industry £5bn or more.
One executive said they expected the final contract to be signed and unveiled as soon as next week, although they cautioned that the timing remained fluid.
Last year, dozens of developers signed a pledge to fix buildings constructed since the early 1990s, with revisions to the deal with the government in recent weeks focusing on the scope of companies’ exposure.
The Grenfell inquiry heard many of the companies involved in the tragedy have failed to accept blame for their role in the events prior to the disaster.
The inquiry also heard from Jason Beer KC, for the department of levelling up, housing and communities, who said the department “apologises unreservedly” for its failure to recognise weaknesses in the regulatory system.
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
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Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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