Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At One 20170615

It engulf the entire building in just minutes . So many questions and as yet no answers. Stay with bbc news throughout the day. Good afternoon from west london. Firefighters say they are not expecting to find anyone else alive in this tower block, which is still smouldering, 36 hours after a massive fire tore through it. 17 people have been confirmed dead. But the London Fire Brigade chief says there are still unknown numbers of people in the building. Friends and relatives of the missing are still desperately searching for news. 37 people remain in hospital, 17 are critical. This morning the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition were here. The Prime Minister has announced there will be a full Public Inquiry. The queen paid tribute to the bravery of the hundreds of firefighters who battled against the flames. She also praised the incredible generosity of volunteers whove poured in to this Area Offering help and support. Richard lister with our first report and warning that this contains distressing images. The smoke blackened ruin was still smouldering this morning. It took more than 2a hours to get the blaze under control. Pockets of late in areas that were too dangerous to reach. There were bodies as well. Nobody knows how many. Finding them isa nobody knows how many. Finding them is a challenge. This will be a very slow and painstaking process. This isa slow and painstaking process. This is a large building. There will be a large amount of Building Work required internally, structures will need to be built to ensure the floors are safe. Before we do that we are going to utilise some specialist Dog Training Teams that we have, in conduction with the metropolitan police, that will go through the building and surrounding area looking for identification of people. The search could take weeks and police say the number of dead is expected to rise, but how much is not clear. Our absolute priority for all of us is about identifying and locating those people who are still missing and it would be fit wrong of me to give a number that is not accurate. One person has been reported 46 times that they believe to be missing. How did this happen . The cause has not been formally identified. Understanding why it spreads of us could take weeks, months, and for local people who saw the disaster unfold, grief is turning to anger. If you had seen that building go up like i saw it from my back window you would have no doubt it was not fit for purpose. Someone may be catastrophic error. We are grieving but there is public Anger Underneath and we want to see someone Anger Underneath and we want to see someone held accountable. Anger Underneath and we want to see someone held accountable. I feel angry that i saw people dying in front of my eyes. I saw kids and women and kids this age hanging from windows with teddies. That angered me, and nobody could help them. This war has become a collection of a community upset. Some have left m essa 9 es community upset. Some have left messages for loved ones and others are thanking the Emergency Services. The queen said her thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire. The Prime Minister went to see the site for herself this morning. Downing street stressed it was a private visit and theresa may did not make any public statements. She has promised a full investigation. The area around the tower is littered with these burnt remnants of the buildings cladding. Survivors will want to know why it was so flammable and wider concerns we re was so flammable and wider concerns were not taken more seriously. Was so flammable and wider concerns were not taken more seriouslym was obvious that the time when i worked here in 2015 that the tenants we re very worked here in 2015 that the tenants were very aware of multiple problems with the building including potential fire safety problems, and i worked with that community, the te na nt i worked with that community, the tenant management did not listen to them. The contractor did not listen to the tenants concerns. As fires continued in part of the building today those responsible for Grenfell Tower insisted it complied with all the relevant Building Codes and regulations, but it stands as a monument to a Fire Protection policy that clearly failed in the most devastating way. There are a lot of people missing, whole families who are unaccounted for. Heart breaking stories of last phone calls and messages from people trapped in their homes. Relatives and friends have been travelling from hospital to hospital trying to find their loved ones. Our Reporter Reports on the desperate search for the missing, and again a warning that viewers may find this distressing. Theres hospital in paddington is looking after 11 patients, three of them in critical care, mostly suffering with Smoke Inhalation. This person is visiting herfriends daughter who is extremely unwell. She is not in a Good Condition because she is in icu. She cannot talk. We have just seen this family and this is their extended family that you have gone to see. Utterly distraught. How are you . How is the community . I do not know. I do not know what to say. I am really stressed and really disappointed. I could not believe what happened to them. It was like a dream. Many families desperately searching for loved ones have come here since wednesday morning but as the hours passed the search becomes more agonising with the realisation that at this stage they are unlikely to get the news they so badly work for. This man is desperate. He was separated from his 12 year old daughterjessica during the fire and is still going from hospital to hospital to try to find her. is still going from hospital to hospital to try to find her. I was at home. I was downstairs with a friend. The fire started and i tried to go upstairs and the firefighters we re to go upstairs and the firefighters were already there and they would not allow me to go up. She was out of the flat at 1 30am. She was making her way down with some people. Her phone cut off. We do not know. I think she was on the spears. Hopefully someone has seen her in hospital. This is jessica. Her friends are also trying to understand what has happened. friends are also trying to understand what has happened. I have a friend called jessica. She is still missing. It is horrible for me to hear that they are missing or dead or in hospital or something. So many are still missing, the young and old. 37 people are still in hospitals across london. Many of them are critical, adults and children suffering from injuries caused by Smoke Inhalation. Our reporter is at St Marys Hospital in paddington, where some are being treated. Theres hospital is the closest Major Hospital to the tower block. It is currently treating the greatest number of patients. There are 11 patients being treated here, the mack in critical care. One of the mack in critical care. One of the greatest challenges facing medics here will be to treat signs of Smoke Inhalation. It can have serious effects on the lungs of the windpipe, the airways, it can cause swelling and make it difficult to breathe. For anyone the medics are particularly concerned about the may have put them injust particularly concerned about the may have put them in just coma and particularly concerned about the may have put them injust coma and given them an artificial Breathing Chip to allow them to breathe in a controlled wait until the lungs recover. They will be looking for signs of Carbon Monoxide poisoning and Cyanide Poisoning because Home Furnishings in a closed space can leave people at risk of this. They have the antidote to that here as they will at all of the major trauma centres treating people from the fire. I spoke to one doctor who said it is likely the majority of people experiencing these problems will already have been seen across london but if anyone is worried, as signs of wheezing or difficulties breathing they should be checked out. The medics are aware that it is not just the out. The medics are aware that it is notjust the physical problems of Smoke Inhalation that people will be feeling, there will be the psychological effects lingering across london for some time to come. Indeed. There is of course a lot of focus on the new Exterior Cladding that was put on this 19705 tower block just last year as part of a £10 million refurbishment. The main question, how was the fire able to take hold in just minutes with such devastating effect . Why wasnt it contained . Our Reporter Reports on the investigation ahead. Tower block fires, an International Pattern is emerging. In france in 2012 when a Barbecue Blaze Spread rapidly up the outside mat like at g Re Nfell Tower, rapidly up the outside mat like at Grenfell Tower, the cladding was a factor. Again in melbourne, three yea rs factor. Again in melbourne, three years ago, similar cladding burning contributing to a fire which shocked australia. On new years eve at the end of 2015 in dubai, the flames spreading like wildfire and across aluminium composite cladding. For fire safety expert there were warnings. There is enough evidence from fires in australia, abu dhabi, france and others to show there is a problem unfolding. Spreading fires are an emerging issue and it is coming on the back of modern methods of construction which are leading to the introduction of new combustible materials, vogts, a combustible structure. As the implications thinking it is natural people who live in tower blocks should be seeking reassurance because you only have to look at the website for insta nce have to look at the website for instance of the company that supplied the cladding to see plenty of other examples of projects where similar looking cladding has been going in. There is a big job for councils calming peoples fears where appropriate but taking action where appropriate but taking action where it is necessary. The visits are starting. In derby fire officers going into buildings today to be sure residents about safety. There will be detailed inspections demanded by the government from councils across the country but that will not deal with concerns that materials can still be factor in a fire while meeting building regulations. There is a minimum requirement for the materials used and the installation of those materials. To say it was directly a fault of the cladding. It will soon come fault of the cladding. It will soon come to light but it is very difficult to speculate at this time. It was the most shocking Blaze Firefighters had seen which spread at unprecedented speed. Experts have honedin at unprecedented speed. Experts have honed in on the cladding, faced with aluminium which may have peeled off exploding plastic material inside. There may have been flammable form insulation behind. Those babies the reasons. A grim and painstaking investigation is still to come. Well, as weve heard, theresa may has been here to Grenfell Tower this morning. The labour Leaderjeremy Corbyn also visited the scene and met volunteers helping the community as they try to cope with the aftermath of the fire. He told them the truth about what happened had to come out and would come out. Our Political Correspondent chris mason reports. The Prime Minister visited kensington this morning to see the remains of the tower herself and speak to firefighters. She returned to Downing Street and in the last few minutes said this. to Downing Street and in the last few minutes said this. I am ordering a full Public Inquiry into this disaster. We need to know what happened. We need to have an explanation of this. We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones, friends, and the homes in which they lived. The labour leader has also paid a visit. Someone has to be held accountable, responsible. We do not want the government to hide this with some hollow platitude. Kensington this lunchtime. A Community Angry and demanding an explanation from politicians. Locally and nationally. The truth has got to come out. This isa the truth has got to come out. This is a community that is angry and demanding an explanation from politicians locally and nationally. The construction of the tower block is essentially a series of Concrete Boxes which are the flats. The fire is not supposed to spread from one flat to another. It is supposed to begin teamed. It was not. It spread and it spread upwards and outside through the cladding. In the next half hour, mps will have a chance to question a Government Minister about what has happened and there are lots of questions demanding answers. Among those, should residents in tower blocks continue to be advised to stay put in their flats when fire breaks out. Why has a review of Elding Regulations Covering Fire Safety promised by the government not been published . Promised by the government not been published . And promised by the government not been published . And why are Sprinkler System is not in more widespread use . Over the years, just not recently, weve made countless speeches saying that sprinklers should be fitted for incidents. It is absolute madness that it isnt mandatory for sprinklers to automatically befitted in all new School Buildings and its impossible to put any amount of money on someones life. A rising death toll and hundreds left homeless. A Prime Minister who lost a majority and yet to prove since that she cant govern. And now, ever louder voices demanding the government responds properly to this tragedy. Theresa may will hope a public enquiry can ensure that happens. Chris mason, bbc news. Our assistant Political Editor norman smith is in westminster. There is a lot of anger in this community, not surprisingly. Now the Prime Minister has announced this public enquiry . She has, and i suspect that was probably inevitable, given the scale of the loss of life, the indignation that this could happen in one of the richest cities in the world, and also, the clear sense of anger that was beginning to emerge about the way officialdom was seen to have ignored the seemingly repeated warnings of tenants about the fire risks. Anger directed notjust at the Tenants Management Organisation and the local council, but very directly at the government. So we will now get enquiry which if it follows the course of previous enquiries, may well be headed by a judge. Well have to see. It will almost certainly hold its evidence sessions in public and those who will give evidence will include a local council, the builders, the contractors, but yes, also i expect the tenants and relatives of some of the tenants and relatives of some of the victims. Now that of course will be difficult testimony to hear and that will be in public session, and the hope will be to establish exactly what happened and the possibility then is you could see criminal charges. Then the hope would be finally to come up with a coherent and binding set of recommendations to ensure firstly that such mistakes are not made again, but also to reassure tenants in existing tower blocks and to set a Template For Future Fire Safety future tower blocks. Norman smith in westminster, thank you. An Emergency Number has been set up for anyone concerned for loved ones in the North Kensington fire. The Casualty Bureau is 0800 0961233. The fire crews are still trying to dampen down the flames, a small cup pockets of fire that have been breaking out since weve been on air. Theres been an awful lot of the praise for the fire crews. 200 fire crews went into the burning tower and risked their own lives trying to get people out. Well be talking about them later in the programme and also about the Extraordinary Community responsive. Now its back to simon, in the studio. Our top story this lunchtime. The Prime Minister has called for a full Public Inquiry into the london tower block fire. The number of those confirmed dead is now 17 but police are warning that is expected to rise. The faces of some of the many who are still unaccounted for young and old, many of them trapped on the upper floors of the building. Stay with bbc news throughout the day for all the developments from our correspondents at the scene of the london tower block fire. Theresa may will meet Political Parties from Northern Ireland today at Downing Street. Shell discuss plans to restore Power Sharing at stormont and try to allay growing concerns about her attempt to secure the backing of Democratic Unionist mps in parliament. Our ireland correspondent Chris Buckler is at stormont for us. This could be quite a difficult meeting . Yes, it certainly could. A devolved government here collapsed injanuary, and devolved government here collapsed in january, and the devolved government here collapsed injanuary, and the attempts to try to get Power Sharing up and running, the clock is ticking on that. The deadline is two weeks today. There isa deadline is two weeks today. There is a pressure to try and get this deal done. Theresa may will meet the parties half an hour apart, one after the other, inside Downing Street, and shell encourage them to consult to come to some sort of agreement. However a lot of this meeting is also about reassurance, because of that very separate negotiation that is going on at westminster between the tories and the dup. Theresa may of course needs their support to form a government, to try to ensure that they have a majority in parliament. The dup are crucial to that. But that has caused some concerns for the parties here, particularly sinn fein, who have been openly question the openly questioning, whether the conservatives, who have presented themselves as facilitators in the negotiations, can really been seen as impartial in them. The chairfor example has seen himself as being, james brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary. There are attem pts ireland secretary. There are atte m pts to ireland secretary. There are attempts to offer that reassurance and for example the outgoing head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service is now being brought in as a kind of mediator. Nonetheless, it is the case that what is happening at westminster could impinge on things here at stormont. As for what is happening in westminster, well, the dup say that officially no deal has been agreed yet, but it feels like the parties are quite close to coming to an agreement. There is some speculation that issues about money are concerning the treasury, how that would work, will Northern Ireland get more than other parts of the uk, could that cause problems. Those are the kind of discussions that are being had. But it does seem clear at this stage now that theresa may has said that the queens speech will go ahead on wednesday that she feels she does have the support of the dup, certainly for her legislative programme going ahead in this parliament. But its worth stating again, that friendship, that Partnership At Westminster It doesnt necessarily mean better relationships here at stormont. Chris buckler, thank you. There are more signs today that consumers are cutting back on their spending in reaction to higher prices in the shops. Official figures showed store prices saw their steepest jump in more than four years. With the exception of food, we bought fewer goods in may than we did in the same month last year. Our economics correspondent andy verity is here. Up up until now, people have seemed to wa nt to up until now, people have seemed to want to spend willy nilly and theres a warning from the Bank Of England we could be looking at a change in Interest Rates at some stage. Weve seen a slowdown in Economic Growth in the First Quarter of the year and it suggests consumers are pulling their horns and a little bit, because in the past even though wages havent been rowing as fast as prices, we had a long period of that, consumers have still kept up their spending will stop retail sales havent slowed down, theyve kept growing. So whats different now . The big squeeze in incomes in between 201114, we squeeze in incomes in between 2011 111, we had other things going on, more people coming into the country, they spend money, households had more with two jobs, that was more money being spent. Things seem to be slowing down. This means the Bank Of England have a dilemma. If the economy is slowing down you dont want to be raising Interest Rates, but on the other hand, inflation at 2. 9 looks close to getting above the Bank Of Englands target rate. It shouldnt go above 3 . Three members of the Banks Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise rates, that is the most weve had voting for arrays for ten years, so potentially looking at an Interest Rate rise in the next year. Interestingly enough the Mansion House speech is tonight and Philip Hammond has just Mansion House speech is tonight and Philip Hammond hasjust recently announced in Breaking News that hes pulling out. He said, in view of the g Re Nfell Tower pulling out. He said, in view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy ive withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with the local community. That puts mark carney, the governor, in an interesting position. If its sensitive to speak, what attitude should he strike . Thank you. Back now to save the race with in west london. To Sophie Raworth in west london. The response from the community here has been extraordinary. Within hours of the fire breaking out, the streets around here were filled with tables covered in food, water and clothes for these people who have lost absolutely everything. Some of the Community Centres and sports halls that have been turned into temporary shelters have received so many donations theyve had to turn supplies away. Tom burridge reports on the volunteers who have dropped everything to help this community. This shows you how people here feel. Everything donated. A Diverse Community which cares. Its incredible at the moment. Everyone is coming together, more people keep coming and helping out, trying to do as much as possible. I heart feels for london when i feel all these people come together, helping each other ina people come together, helping each other in a time of need. People have given so much its hard to organise. We are inundated with donations of fresh food, fruit, vegetables, clothes, toys, you name it. Weve got it. Some are giving more than belongings. Counselling those whose loved ones have died. They are sobbing and crying. Can you imagine a woman from ethiopian, where ive been, very religious, she was coming down the main stairway in Grenfell Tower with her 12 year old daughter and the flames and smoke covered her daughter and she lost her. Other pa rents were daughter and she lost her. Other parents were throwing their babies out of the window. People round, i live opposite, i just out of the window. People round, i live opposite, Ijust Saw Out of the window. People round, i live opposite, i just saw flame, out of the window. People round, i live opposite, ijust saw flame, but people next door the children in the window shouting, help me. A lot of children were inside. Its horrific. This is the reception at the local sports centre. Now storing and distributing food. Local schools here have been touched. Their response is to act. All the local schools have been helping. I know my mum spent 1a hours helping yesterday ta ke mum spent 1a hours helping yesterday take donations in and she said look, theyre things, people coming in, its amazing. Helping out offering beds, food, toiletries, clothes, whatever we can do, everyone has been helping out and im proud of how well people have chipped in. Help just keeps how well people have chipped in. Helpjust keeps on how well people have chipped in. Help just keeps on coming. To give you a sense of how the community here has reacted, well, they say pictures speak louder than words. At a mosque nearby businesses delivering for free and people pitching up. This is generosity defined. Its so terrible that the situation thats happened and we are alljust situation thats happened and we are all just trying to situation thats happened and we are alljust trying to come together to help everybody, so many families have nothing now. You know, the little that we have we can pass it onto them to make their lives a little bit better. Just around the corner from Grenfell Tower, little bit better. Just around the cornerfrom Grenfell Tower, a of messages. What would you write . For something so awful it is hard to express in words. Tom burridge, bbc news, in west london. Incredibly moving, reading some of the messages left for the victims of this fire. Our correspondent Richard Galpin is therefore as now. Yes, this wall of remembrance, is also being called the wall of condolences, has been growing by the hour. Weve been here for a little while and they are putting more and more panels up, because there are so many people here and have been throughout the day, streaming throughout the day, streaming through here, leaving an enormous number of messages. Obviously the vast majority are essentially, rest in peace, for those who have been killed. But also messages for the missing and we can see here one of the posters for this woman, mariem elgwahry, who was on the 19th floor and last seen at 2 30am, when the fire broke out, and appealing for any information and Phone Numbers for people to call, if they have any information about that. Of course, there are so many missing people. There are also those messages of angen there are also those messages of anger. If i can point you appear it says, jailed those responsible. While this community has very much come together, theres a real sense of community spirit, theres also a sense of anger about how this fire could have happened. Indeed, richard, thank you. More than 200 firefighters tackled this blaze yesterday. They were sent into this building though it was alight from top to bottom not knowing what theyd find or if they could get out. One firefighter called mick tweeted a photo of his fire helmet and said, you know its bad when youre told to write your name on your helmet. London fire brigades Chief Dany Cotton has heaped praise on herfirefighters, the Emergency Service heroes who did everything they could to save those who were trapped. Hero look at that. I hope everyone gets out safely too. Early on in the fire, my firefighters tried to reach some of the higher floors. I spoke to a crew before i left who had been to the 20th floor looking for people. We specifically targeted flats where we were getting calls, where we knew where people were. As the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, it was a very stressful and difficult time. I was looking at a building engulfed in fire, i knew members of the public were still trapped yet i was committing hundreds of firefighters to a building which to a lot of people looked terribly unsafe