In the news

https://twitter.com/madamyez/status/875155162666545157

And from Paul Waugh's morning email

I talked to the two MPs in the Commons who know more than most how
terrifying the blaze must have been. Labour’s Jim Fitzpatrick and Tory
Mike Penning have the distinction of being both former firefighters
and ex-ministers. Both have fought tower block fires. Jim said that
‘the finger is pointing at Government’ because of delays to a review
of building safety regulations, though he was at pains to say it could
be months and years before we find out exactly what happened. Mike
said that the cladding would need to be investigated, but so too would
the lack of fire alarms and emergency lighting. As all the
firefighters told us yesterday, fires will always happen, but that’s
precisely why safety design and regulations are so important.

One senior Labour figure suggested to me yesterday that Grenfell Tower
“is going to become a parable about inequality and austerity in 2017
Britain”. Were sprinklers not fitted because of cost? Was the cladding
a cheaper alternative? Were residents simply ignored by a bureaucracy
that seems designed to strip out any democratic accountability? Locals
complain legal aid cuts meant they couldn’t fight some changes in the
courts. Ex fire chiefs complain that the Government’s one in-three
out rule on ‘red tape’ hampers any proposal for new safety
regulations.

Like Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower could become a defining moment for
the country and spark much-needed change. For many it will be seen as
a man-made stain on our image of ourselves as a modern, wealthy
nation.