Fleur Anderson Reacts to 'Horrifying' Grenfell Inquiry Report

Calls for removal of unsafe cladding on Putney buildings

Report concludes that 72 deaths at Grenfell Tower were 'entirely avoidable'

September 6, 2024

Fleur Anderson has described the findings of the Grenfell Inquiry as ‘horrifying’ after it detailed the circumstances leading to the death of 72 people in west London 8 years ago.

The Putney MP called for lessons to be learned and urgent action taken to ensure no such tragedy can occur again.

The Inquiry found that all of the deaths were ‘entirely avoidable’, caused by a litany of errors on the part of the government, building manufacturers and safety officials.

Ms Anderson said, “It is difficult to find the words to talk about the Grenfell Tower fire when listening to the findings of the Inquiry. The Inquiry makes clear that all of the 72 deaths were entirely avoidable. It is shameful and indefensible that concerns around safety were repeatedly ignored and warnings dismissed.

“We owe it to the 72 people who lost their lives to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. I have been campaigning for several years locally to ensure that those who have unsafe cladding on their building have it addressed. This adds a new sense of urgency to our campaign.”

She has worked for the removal of unsafe cladding on buildings across Putney since her election in 2019.

Speaking in the Building Safety and Social Housing debate on 13 July 2023, Ms Anderson highlighted the enduring pain of the Grenfell tragedy and the continued suffering of residents living in unsafe housing conditions.

She won a change to the Building Safety Act, which legally protected lease holders from paying cladding remediation costs, having set up meetings between the Minister for Building Safety which led to direct action being taken to improve housing.

The Putney MP also led a protest outside Parliament, demanding that then Secretary of State for Housing and developers took more urgent action to make homes safe.

Fleur Anderson at a protest about the cladding scandal in 2022

She continued, “There are still buildings in Putney that have unsafe cladding on. I have been campaigning on this issue for years, working with leaseholders affected and demanding that they have justice. People living in unsafe conditions deserve more than empty promises. The last Government did nothing to address concerns or improve outcomes for those with unsafe cladding. The slow progress and the ongoing uncertainty that their inaction caused are unacceptable.”

She has recently met with residents, developers, and managing agents to discuss their concerns and many residents reported feeling unsafe and facing financial difficulties due to the ongoing cladding issues. Ms Anderson criticised the slow pace of remediation efforts and called for clear deadlines for developers to complete necessary safety work