Grenfell 7 years on: a joint call for a National Oversight Mechanism

Friday 14 June 2024 marked the seventh anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people. Hundreds of people walked silently in solidarity with the Grenfell community to remember those who died in the preventable disaster.  

Seven years on, the building, wrapped in white bandages, acts as a reminder of the unhealed wounds left untreated. The families and friends of those who died echoed these feelings of neglect as they stood demanding truth, justice and accountability for another year. 

Before the walk, there were speeches and a spoken word poem delivered by young people from the community. One girl, who was 8 years old at the time of the fire, said, “our community’s future depends on the ability to confront and rectify the injustices of the past.”

So how can we ensure that they will not have to gather for another year and make the same calls for justice?

Public inquiries are a crucial way for bereaved families to find out how their loved ones died and the failures that enabled them. 

Following the march, Lobby Akinnola, whose father died due to COVID-19, and who campaigned for a public inquiry alongside Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, spoke about why bereaved families campaign for public inquiries.

He shared, that families fight for public inquiries “because without accounts, we can’t have accountability.”

Alongside bereaved family members from Grenfell United and Factor 8 (Infected Blood Scandal), he called for a National Oversight Mechanism: an independent public body responsible for collating, analysing and following-up on recommendations. This is what INQUEST has been calling for with their No More Deaths campaign.  

Following public inquiries, there is no guarantee that potentially life-saving recommendations will be implemented. Instead, bereaved families are yet again left having to fight for change, and often bear witness to yet more preventable deaths in similar circumstances

The government has continuously failed to implement potentially life-saving recommendations made following the Grenfell Tower public inquiry. The inquiry has cost £173 million of taxpayers money between August 2017 and March 2024 - significantly more than it would have cost to make Grenfell Tower safe.

As we await the inquiry phase two report in September, the new government must commit to prioritising outstanding and any new recommendations from the report. 

Alongside this, we call on them to establish a National Oversight Mechanism to ensure this happens in the future too.  It is vital that action is taken to stop people dying preventable deaths. 

Each year we call for meaningful, long-lasting change. Seven years on, we demand urgency in achieving this aim. 

Join our fight for a National Oversight Mechanism to help prevent deaths.

Sign our petition.