Hello and welcoMe to Bbc Hello and welcoMe to bbc news. Hello and welcoMe to bbc news. You oin us in Central London you join us in Central London outside the building where for more than six years the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower Fire has been taking place. More than seven years on from the Grenfell Tower Disaster which claiMed 72 lives. Theirfamily their family and friends are hoping for answers from this report. SoMe of them did not want this public inquiry to coMe first. They wanted a Police Investigation to coMe first because they want accountability and want answers. They are looking for a path towards potential prosecutions as a result of what happened on that night. We will have lots of reports through the day and will bring you up to the moMent when the second report is published at 11 and we expect to hear from the chair of the inquiry. There will be reaction from the groups, the community groups that forMed in the aftermath of the fire. We expect a stateMent from the Me-minister'>PriMe Minister among many pieces of reaction today. We will keep you up to date with all of that on bbc news. But lets begin with a report from our hoMe affairs correspondent. Every Day Nick Burton walks the dogs, he catches a glimpse of where his flat was the top of Grenfell Tower. He escaped with his Wife Pilar through choking smoke. I dont actually reMember coming out into the light. I dont reMember, like, being handed over. I dont reMember when i took my first, um, real breath. I know that i thought i was going to die and Melt at soMe stage. In the. In The Tower. He coughs. And, um. Is that cough, do you think, still from the. Uh, yeah, i actually went to the doctors the other day about my cough. I think they called it the Grenfell Cough i was seriously sick for months. Afterwards, he and pilar spent long stretches in hospital, but for her, the effects of the fire caMe on top of deMentia. She died injanuary 2018. She is regarded as the last and 72nd victim of grenfell. So for nick, today is a huge day. Weve been waiting seven years to find out the facts that are going to be in black and white. You know, tell the truth about these especially about these corporations and, um, and their part that they played in the fire. Good morning, everyone. WelcoMe to todays hearing. Getting to that Truth Wasnt easy. At one point, Senior Counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett Kc showed his frustration. I invited the core participants not to indulge in a Merry-go-round'>Merry Go Round of buck passing. Regrettably, that invitation has not been accepted. The inquiry� s already concluded that cladding added in the disastrous 2016 refurbishMent of Mes'>Grenfell Allowed FlaMes to spread rapidly. Today it will explain how the cladding and combustible insulation got there and why firefighters seeMed unprepared to evacuate the building when they couldnt stop the fire including forMer firefighter ricky nuttall. What training had you had for dealing with a Cladding Fire . Id had no training for a Cladding Fire. How about for evacuating a whole building . No training for that, either. And do you think that is now soMething that firefighters need more training for . I think firefighters need more training for that, definitely, but i also think the systems need to be employed that make it a possibility. A likely Mendation'>Inquiry RecomMendation today. But victims of the fire wantjustice, and an inquiry� s not a court. Nazanin aghlani lost her mother, sakina afrasehabi. She strongly argues that prosecutions should have coMe before the inquiry. Its certainly delayed justice for us. Its Meant that criminal Prosecutions Couldnt have happened, and all those people that should be facing criminal prosecutions have had, you know, a platform to kind of trial, um, their story. No charges are expected until the end of 2026 at the earliest nearly ten years after grenfell. Bereaved families and survivors have started to head into the building in anticipation of the publication of that report at 11. With Me here as he will be throughout the day is Me-editor'>HoMe Editor mark easton, who was there on the night of grenfell fire. Uf of Reflecting about Memories of that night. You were Reflecting. It Memories of that night. You were Reflecting. Were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me it were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me. It is were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me. It is not were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me. It is not about were Reflecting. It has stayed with Me. It is not about Me. | with Me. It is not about Me. The people i saw that morning, just after dawn i arrived and saw the building still well alight, Fire Crews still moving in and out. Ambulances everywhere. Sadly the ambulances doing virtually nothing because at that point it was almost impossible for anyone else to get out of the building at about 4. 30 in the morning. I reMemberwatching morning. I reMember watching soMe morning. I reMemberwatching soMe people who escaped from the building standing looking aghast at what was going on, many of them had friends and family still inside the building. I reMemberseeing a face, soMeone waving a white cloth through a window. It is an image that will stay with Me for ever. I believe that individual was ultimately saved but for 72 others, of course, they perished as a result of they perished as a result of the fire. It was a terrible terrible thing. The Me-minister'>PriMe Minister talked about it being unimaginable. That was Theresa May and i think it was the overpowering sense it was an extraordinary, terrible thing to be happening in a country that likes to think we have safety. There was a sense of how could this occur. Today you will get conclusions of the second report. ImMediately after the fire, there was a sense of real urgency. You need to make sure other buildings that might be in a similar state dont also result in tragedies. There was an Inquiry And Action was taken. We tragedies. There was an Inquiry And Action was taken. And action was taken. We know there are and action was taken. We know there are at and action was taken. We know there are at least and action was taken. We know there are at least 4600 there are at least 4600 buildings that still have unsafe cladding. ReMediation work has not started with half of those and there may be others. It is extraordinary. Seven years after the inquiry we know about these buildings. Half of them as you say,. For the residents of those buildings you can imagine the fear they experienced. Buildings you can imagine the fear they experienced. When you to back fear they experienced. When you go back to fear they experienced. When you go back to days fear they experienced. When you go back to days after fear they experienced. When you go back to days after grenfell go back to days after grenfell and those political promises were made, how action would be taken to were made, how action would be Ta Ken to resolve were made, how action would be taken to resolve these matters, to ensure residents were listened to and buildings were saved and people could have confidence that no Short Cuts had been taken. Yet here we are, seven years later and as you say, thousands of buildings where we know there is unsafe cladding still on those buildings. Cladding still on those buildings. Cladding still on those buildinus. , buildings. This inquiry, there are two parts. Buildings. This inquiry, there are two parts, i buildings. This inquiry, there are two parts, i want buildings. This inquiry, there are two parts, i want to buildings. This inquiry, there are two parts, i want to get. Buildings. This inquiry, there| are two parts, i want to get a sense in terms of the recomMendations of the first part of the inquiry that looked at the story of the night, the narrative of what happened, how many recomMendations have been acted on. And what kind of signal does that give about recomMendations from phase two, the report we are waiting today, and what might happen to those. ,. ,. ,. , those. There has been a lot of legislation those. There has been a lot of legislation passed those. There has been a lot of legislation passed since legislation passed since grenfell and we have had a fire safety act, building safety act, social Housing Regulation Act, social Housing Regulation Act requiring landlords to take more notice of complaints made by social housing tenants. A lot of Measures brought in to try to ensure buildings are safe and the construction of buildings is much more robust, corners are not cut and so on. In a way, a lot of that structural regulatory staff has now been initiated or done but as we have said, a lot of buildings still regarded as unsafe. I think what we will get today is more of a sense of where mistakes were made and who was culpable. For a long tiMe people have been talking about how this is the moMent after which we will be able to start pursuing those responsible and taking action against them, potentially criminal action against individuals and organisations. I think what many of the survivors and families and other interested groups will be looking for this morning is a sense of where this inquiry believes the fatal errors were made. And what action could conceivably be taken now. We also know because the police have told us that this cannot happen imMediately. That it will be probably another two years before charges are brought, maybe another year after that before anyone gets convicted of anything in relation to this terrible, terrible tragedy. That will be a full decade after the blaze. I do reMember in those hours, days after the fire, there was a sense of we need justice. The slogan was justice for grenfell. And i think it is hard not to feel today, despite the efforts of this inquiry, of previous inquiries, all the political rhetoric, that justice has been done yet. Mark, we will speak again soon. 0ur mark, we will speak again soon. Our Me-editor'>HoMe Editor. The fire that started in a fridge on a flat on the fourth floor, in less than ten minutes the flaMes spread to the outside of Grenfell Tower and then moved rapidly up through then moved rapidly up through the floors of The Tower with such devastating effect for so many people. Our reporter has more than most listened to what happened and listened to what had been going on in this inquiry. She has listened to hundreds if not thousands of hours of evidence from the inquiry, phases one and two. This is her report on the events of that night. The fire at grenfell events of that night. The fire at Grenfell Tower events of that night. The fire at Grenfell Tower was events of that night. The Fire L at Grenfell Tower was reported at Grenfell Tower was reported at 12. 54 when a phoned 999 to report a fire in the kitchen of his flat, flat 16 on the fourth floor. Phase one of the inquiry would later determine the fire was caused by a faulty Fridge Freezer in the kitchen of that flat. Within six minutes of the first 999 call, Fire Fighters arrived on the scene. FlaMes broke out quickly and spread up the outside of the east face of the outside of the east face of The Tower, rapidly climbing the building. It was the Buildings Cladding fitted as part of a refurbishMent that has been identified as the primary cause of the rapid fire spread. By 1. 14 in the morning firefighters entered flat 16 and began efforts to extinguish the flaMes. 30 minutes after the flaMes. 30 minutes after the initial 999 call the fire reached the roof of the Tower And Spread horizontally around the top of the building. It had climbed 19 flaws in 18 minutes. 0n the top floors, residents were seen frantically waving from windows using flashlights and mobiles to signal for help. Inside, the hallways and stairwell which was the only Means of escape had begun to fill with thick toxic smoke. 0utside, plastic in the cladding Melted and dripped as it burnt, starting fires lower down. By 2. 23 the fire had spread to three sides. Many residents were advised they would be safe is to remain in their flats. Would be safe is to remain in theirflats. This would be safe is to remain in their flats. This so called Stay Put Policy was revoked by the Fire Brigade after 2. 35 and residents were instructed to get out. However by this point, 63 flats were on fire and more than 100 people remained in the building. By four oclock, the fire had wrapped entirely around the outside of The Tower. There was no further contact with residents above the 14th floor. Firefighters continued efforts to contain the blaze but fears grew of the entire structure collapsing. As dawn broke becaMe clear. The tower had been reduced. At 8. 07 the last survivor was out, trapped in his flat for hours. The blaze burnt out at 1. 14 in the morning on thursday, over 24 hour is before it began. I will talk to her later in the day. Earlierthis i will talk to her later in the day. Earlier this week i spoke to a survivor of the fire, m 0connor. She and her Partner Luke lived on the 20th Floor of grenfell and escaped early on. They caMe down by the lift, not by the stairs, because emma has Mobility Issues. At that stage they did not realise how serious the fire and deadly the situation was. When i asked her about her life since then and about her life since then and about other issues that still affect her, she spoke to Me about a recent fire in a Tower Block in dagenham in East London and how that had made her feel. Physically sick. And here we go again. And when are they going to wake up . And then i was just constantly watching the news, waiting for any press release, which thankfully, everyone was accounted for. So it brought you back to the night of grenfell itself. And i know that you and your partner, luke, you managed to get out of The Tower really early, didnt you . Yeah. Tell us about that. We got out at 1. 21 in the morning. It was, um, we actually exited our flat at around 1. 19. Which there was already light, wispy smoke on ourfloor. And we just we locked the door as usual. He took his Pizza Box to the bin chute, which then he got a big puff of black, thick smoke that he inhaled. And then we entered the lift, went downstairs. It stopped at the 11th floor, then the third and then the ground, which on cctv you could see Me ridiculously smiling. Until we get down to the ground and then, um, my facial expressions changed. Because you just didnt realise at that stage, did you . How serious it was . No. Definitely not. I Mean, i really should have noticed when the fourth Fire Engine stopped and reversed really fast that it was quite serious because you dont see, you dont usually see even on Tv Shows like londons burning, you dont see that ever. You dont see them slamming on the brakes and reversing really, really fast. I know that you still very much keep in contact with the firefighters at North Kensington Station. You bake for them, for example. And do you find it comforting, important to keep that relationship going . Its an unbreakable bond. Because theyre outstanding. They tend every shift not knowing if theyre going to make it hoMe. And they still do it day in and day out. They deserve as many Medals as possible, but i know they dont like praise because its just their dayjob. But to others, theyre the unsung heroes of, of this country. What are you hoping for from the final report when its published later this week . I hope that the 18 Metre-rule'>Metre Rule will be scrapped completely. 18 Metre-rule'>Metre Rule is where the the Building Regulator can clad a residential block with Flammable Cladding up to 18m tall. And the simple fact of that reason is because the london Fire Brigade cant get to above 18m, where this is totally u na cce pta ble. Just because the london Fire Brigade have that equipMent, it does not Mean that they have to. Or should put up with these rising deaths due to fire. So, emma, of course, we cant miss this T Shirt, which youre wearing. Grenfell forever in our hearts. Which echoes the side of the building now. Yeah. Tell us a bit about this T Shirt. This T Shirt was designed by the young people who are absolutely incredible. And theyre really strong to be starting to, like, talk about how theyre so traumatised and they feel guilty for being here, which i can totally relate to because i still suffer with survivors guilt. But mabel actually helped the young people, the singer. Mabel. Yeah. Shes an outstanding talent. And im just so blessed to be able to, um, be able to wear this. Emma 0connor Emma Oconnor and all the people i have spoken to, we are establishing with them beforehand what they are comfortable talking about and whether they want to recount the events of the night or not. Because obviously, a lot of people are still going through a huge amount of trauma. Today is another difficult day for them. One of the things i spoke to with emma was the subject of personal Mergency-evacuation'>EMergency Evacuation plans. Peeps as they are known for short. Plans. Peeps as they are known forshort. Emma plans. Peeps as they are known for short. Emma and her partner caMe down in the lift from the 20th Floor of The Tower and got out pretty early. Because of Mobility Issues they used the lift but did not realise at that stage how serious the situation was. Moyra samuels, local Resident And Community activist you are familiar with emma and that subject of personal Mergency-evacuation'>EMergency Evacuation plans for people with disabilities, Mobility Issues, to tell them how to act in an eMergency. Remind us what the first part of the inquiry said about these peeps. I of the inquiry said about these pee s. ~. ,. , peeps. I think the idea was that on the peeps. I think the idea was that on the floor peeps. I think the idea was that on the floor that peeps. I think the idea was l that on the floor that people lived there would be neighbours involved in supporting them to evacuate. There would be clear plans for them as to how they should evacuate and there should evacuate and there should be clear plans in communal areas. Should be clear plans in communalareas. So should be clear plans in communal areas. So that was what Phase One of the inquiry recomMended. We what Phase One of the inquiry recomMended. RecomMended. We know the Reviewer Peeps recomMended. We know the Reviewer Peeps still recomMended. We know the Reviewer Peeps still has recomMended. We know the Reviewer Peeps still has not | Reviewer Peeps still has not fully taken place. The previous governMent looked at them. They said they were trying to coMe up said they were trying to coMe up with an alternative plan to the personal Mergency-evacuation'>EMergency Evacuation plans. We heard from the new Ment'>Labour GovernMent they are looking at Person CentredEvacuation Plans. That is soMething you want to hear more about because you have campaigned on this. I about because you have campaigned on this. I think it recognises campaigned on this. I think it recognises the campaigned on this. I think it recognises the fact campaigned on this. I think it recognises the fact that campaigned on this. I think it recognises the fact that 4196 l campaigned on this. I think it. Recognises the fact that 4196 of recognises the fact that 41 of the people who died in Grenfell Tower had a disability. And actually, obviously, Phase One, the whole inquiry needs to make recomMendations that is in the interest of the most vulnerable. Howeverthe vulnerable. However the previous governMent vulnerable. Howeverthe previous governMent felt these would disadvantage people with disabilities because for example leaseholders might feel they have to pay for soMe of these Evacuation Plans to be put into place and that would disadvantage people with disabilities. The new governMent, the fire minister, has thank goodness decided to impleMent these. The funding will allegedly go on stream to local councils and they will be expected to actually put them into place. Irate expected to actually put them into place into place. We know there are many thousands into place. We know there are many thousands of into place. We know there are many thousands of buildings i many thousands of buildings with unsafe cladding, half of them the work has not begun to remove it. Them the work has not begun to remove it remove it. Absolutely. This is a key issue remove it. Absolutely. This is a key issue in remove it. Absolutely. This is a key issue in the remove it. Absolutely. This is| a key issue in the Ment-stateMent'>GovernMent StateMent they made on monday which seems to be absent from this. They seem to have. The previous Ment-approach'>GovernMent Approach to the removal of cladding, sending strong Messages to developers and building owners to remove it. Five years on and we saw a Fire Like at dagenham ten days ago. Why are they being so tardy in removing cladding . Because there has not been a robust, strong Message from the governMent to developers to the extent of what will happen if they do not remove these. Irate what will happen if they do not remove these. What will happen if they do not remove these. We expect to hear after priMe remove these. We expect to hear after Me-minister'>PriMe Ministers after Me-minister'>PriMe Ministers Questions Today a stateMent from the Me-minister'>PriMe Minister keir starMer. In the MeantiMe, we are waiting, coming up soon, for the publication of the second phase of the inquiry. Beyond those Evacuation Plans, what else are you hoping for from today . I what else are you hoping for from today . What else are you hoping for from today . I am hoping that there will from today . I am hoping that there will be from today . I am hoping that there will be a from today . I am hoping that there will be a clear from today . I am hoping that there will be a clear directive | there will be a clear directive to the Building Industry, Construction Industry as a whole and to local authorities as to how they need to conduct themselves. In terms of refurbishMent. A clear directive about the worth and value of residence. As this was key. The lack of actually listening to what residents said. We expect there to be soMe recognition that deregulation and the corporate companies who made all these decisions in the interests of profits and cost cutting that there is a clear Message this has to be stopped and the Building Industry has to be regulated. Building industry has to be regulated regulated. Away from deregulation regulated. Away from deregulation to regulated. Away from deregulation to regulation . Absolutely. And as we focus not on developers and building owners needs as a priority but actually on our lives, the lives of residents, in the midst of the technicalities we hear today, there is a community that has been devastated. They are families who lost loved ones. Community Members who lost schoolmates, neighbours. This has impacted notjust in a technical way that will have ramifications for the whole country. I hope the ramifications will be positive so people feel more safe in their hoMes. But the ramifications are that we have a community that a generation on are still traumatised and waiting foreclosure. You know when the waiting foreclosure. You know when the criminal waiting foreclosure. You know when the criminal case waiting foreclosure. You know| when the criminal case begins. We have talked a lot about technical issues, politics, about business. Tell us more about business. Tell us more about how you and the people you know from this grenfell community, how they are feeling today, over seven years since the fire. I today, over seven years since the fire. ~ ,. , the fire. I think people especially the fire. I think people especially the the fire. I think people | especially the bereaved the fire. I think people especially the bereaved and survivors are emotional. Seven years is a long tiMe and justice delayed is justice denied. There is a strong Sense Thatjustice is being denied to this community. For us, we feel we do not need the inquiry, we know who was responsible. The Evidence And Demand we had for truth from the inquiry has been revealed to us. We know about we know about the full certification. What we want to see is change. We want to see that. Most Decision Making is incredibly slow. That is frustrating for the community because what we fear is there will be another grenfell if we are not careful. Will be another grenfell if we are not careful. Thank you very much. Are not careful. Thank you very much local are not careful. Thank you very much. Local community are not careful. Thank you very| much. Local Community Activist and part of the Nhs Grenfell Recovery service. Throughout the day as we hear more from the day as we hear more from the inquiry as it publishes its report, we will give the organisations Mentioned in that a right of reply. Many organisations expressing their deep regret at the loss of life and saying they are cooperating with legal authorities. Of course, one group of people affected by the events of that night in june affected by the events of that Night Injune 2017 were firefighters from North Kensington Station and elsewhere who quickly arrived at grenfell to be confronted by soMething i think safe to say was beyond their experience. SoMe of them are still firefighters as we heard from the interview with Emma 0connor the interview with Emma Oconnor who goes to deliver baked goods to firefighters and calls them her heroes. 0thers calls them her heroes. Others have moved on after the trauma of that night to do other things. I am joined of that night to do other things. Iamjoined by of that night to do other things. I am joined by ricky, of that night to do other things. Iam joined by ricky, a forMerfirefighter and things. Iam joined by ricky, a forMer firefighter and now things. Iam joined by ricky, a forMerfirefighter and now a forMer firefighter and now a motivational forMerfirefighter and now a motivational public speaker. Thank you forjoining us as we wait for the second phase of the inquiry to be published. I know you dont want to talk about that night. I respect that. Tell us about what it has been like for you since. It that. Tell us about what it has been like for you since. Been like for you since. It has been like for you since. It has been a long been like for you since. It has been a long journey. Been like for you since. It has been a long journey. When i been like for you since. It has. Been a long journey. When you start a career in the fire service, you expect to coMe into contact with trauma but you do not have a real understanding of how that may affect you and in a lot of cases it will affect people in a minimal enough way so they can carry on with normal Life And Process trauma as it arrives. Grenfell changed everything for Me in terms of how my life fell apart afterwards. I was diagnosed with ptsd and depression. My relationship of eight years fell apart. My son had just turned four. I ended up leaving the family hoMe, leaving my son. I could not afford to stay in london so i had to move away from everyone i knew. Away from work. It was only coming to work. It was only coming to work every day that i think kept Me on an even keel. But. It gave you soMe structure. It gave Me soMething to cling to. In those weeks and months after the fire, being around other people who had experienced the saMe thing as you, you bonded closer to the work you did that night. It was vitally important for Me to be around those people at that tiMe. The moMents when i was away from