Grenfell families’ fury over memorial ‘insult’
Grenfell families’ fury over memorial ‘insult’ as relatives of those killed in the fire accuse ministers of sidelining them over plans for the ‘sacred’ site
- They have accused MPs of sidelining them in debate over what should happen
- This became clear in a letter signed by at least 14 of the 38 bereaved families
- In it, they also accuse the Government of failing to show them due respect
Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, London. The slogan reads ‘Forever in our Hearts
Families of the Grenfell Tower victims are in revolt over the Government’s handling of plans to build a memorial there.
They have accused ministers of sidelining them in the debate over what should happen to what is now the ‘sacred gravesite’ of their loved ones.
In an excoriating letter, signed by at least 14 of the 38 bereaved families, they also accuse the Government of failing to show them due respect in its handling of the West London site, where 72 died in a blaze in 2017.
They vowed to ‘boycott and demonstrate’ against any plans to ‘railroad ownership and management of this land’. Some also raised fears that the site could be ‘land-banked’ to be developed for profit in the future.
The Government says its plans give considerable weight to the ‘voice of the bereaved’ when deciding what to do with the site.
It has asked those who lost relatives to apply to join a commission which will produce a proposal for a memorial and say who should own and manage the land.
Relatives have been asked to vie for one of five places on the commission by putting their name forward for a vote. The commission – which will have no ‘executive authority’ – will also have three spots for survivors, two for local residents, and an undisclosed number of ‘relevant public authority’ representatives.
But families said it was ‘insulting’ to have to take part in an election to decide what should happen to the site, where the ashes of their relatives still lie.
Shah Aghlani, whose mother and aunt died, said: ‘Why should a bereaved person have to be elected to decide what happens to their loved one? We are not running for Parliament. We just want to make sure the right thing is done.
‘I cannot permit the Government to hand over the ashes of my loved ones to a body we don’t recognise. If I feel the deceased have been disrespected, the first thing you will see after memorial day is me with a chisel taking it down.’
Shah Aghlani (C), whose mother and aunt died, said: ‘Why should a bereaved person have to be elected to decide what happens to their loved one?’
The Government says its plans give considerable weight to the ‘voice of the bereaved’ when deciding what to do with the site (pictured during the devastating fire in 2017)
In their letter to Nick Hurd, the Home Office minister with responsibility for Grenfell, the 14 families supported the idea of having a national memorial.
But they added: ‘The site needs to be sanctified and respected as it is where our family members died in the most horrific manner… We, the next of kin, should be properly included at every level of decision making.’
Nabil Choucair, one of the signatories who lost six family members, expressed fury that the Government would give as much weight to the views of a local resident of the tower as to an individual who lost someone in the fire.
‘If they are going to make us as equal as each other, then me and all the family I lost are for nothing. What have they lost compared to what we have lost?’ he said.
Nabil Choucair, one of the signatories who lost six family members, expressed fury that the Government would give as much weight to the views of a local resident of the tower as to an individual who lost someone in the fire
Mr Choucair has lobbied the Government to bring all the next of kin together to canvass their views about the memorial and the voting system.
But in a letter to him, Mr Hurd refused to do so because of the ‘incredible sensitivities around this issue’, after taking advice from ‘clinical professionals’.
He said ministers would proceed with plans to hold a vote for representatives because only a ‘small number’ of bereaved families had raised objections.
The Ministry of Housing said it was ‘committed to ensuring the community is at the heart of deciding a fitting memorial’ and ‘categorically’ denied any plans to land-bank the site.
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