At London Fire Scene, Theresa May Is Abused by Angry Protesters

For two days, May’s government has struggled to respond to the blaze at Grenfell Tower in west London, which killed at least 30 people. She met survivors privately on Friday and promised aid measures including 5 million pounds ($6.4 million) for emergency costs, and new homes nearby within three weeks. They’ll also be consulted on the public inquiry into the disaster announced earlier. But demonstrators shouted “coward” at the premier, accusing her of dodging an earlier meeting with victims.

According to Bloomberg, police had to hold people back as she left. Elsewhere, a crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the council building of Kensington and Chelsea, chanting “we want justice!” Dozens of them burst into the foyer, where police formed a cordon to stop them going upstairs, BBC footage showed.

Protesters accused authorities of suppressing the true death toll, an idea that has spread on social media. Although the police and fire service expect the number to rise significantly, they are following their usual procedure of only raising it as they confirm deaths. Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said Thursday of the toll, “I’d like to hope that it isn’t going to be triple figures.”

There were also indications that political groups had joined protests that spread beyond those immediately affected by the fire. Hundreds of people marched from Kensington town hall toward the gutted tower on Friday evening, some brandishing Socialist Worker Party placards emblazoned with slogans including ‘Defy Tory Rule’ and ‘no justice, no peace.’

Demonstrators were also marching outside Parliament chanting, “May must go.” They made their way to Downing Street, May’s official residence, where they met a large police presence. They then moved up to Trafalgar Square, and mingled with tourists and office workers drinking in the sunshine outside pubs. Most of the crowds later dispersed, but there were calls for more marches next week.

Solidarity

Kate Taylor, who lives about 3 miles from the tower, said she joined the protest to show solidarity with the victims, and said she agreed with the shouts of “Tories out.”

“It’s a terrible tragedy for which no one is taking responsibility,” she said.

It’s a politically delicate time for May, who faced criticism over her visit to the site on Thursday. She was pictured speaking to emergency workers, but was kept away from the public -- with officials citing security concerns and suggesting she didn’t want to distract police and others from their work.

It was a direct contrast with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who met with members of the public and was pictured hugging tearful relatives of victims near the charred building.

Corbyn ran a campaign promising to end austerity in the recent general election in which May’s Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority. The premier must now demonstrate her leadership in the face of a tragedy that has exposed anger at the country’s social divisions and years of budget cuts under her Tory party’s government.

Previous Fire

The government faced questions about failing to apply the lessons from a similar fire in 2009. Housing Minister Alok Sharma told lawmakers on Thursday that a consultation document was close to completion when the general election was called, and it would now be revised to reflect on the Grenfell Tower fire.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan increased the pressure on May by writing an open letter to her, demanding a series of assurances. “I spent several hours yesterday talking to local residents around Grenfell Tower,” he wrote. “These were difficult conversations with a tight-knit community that is understandably distraught, frustrated and increasingly angry. They feel the government and local council haven’t done enough to help them.”

In an interview with Sky News, May said work is starting to check on the safety of similar buildings across the country, and that the public inquiry would determine who was responsible for the disaster. “If action needs to be taken, we will take it,” she said.

Within sight of the burned-out shell of the tower, protesters paused for a minute of silence, punctuated only by the sound of a helicopter above. Two brothers, Nabil and Hisam Choucair, stood nearby holding pictures of six relatives who’d been on the 22nd floor. They said that on the night of the fire, their brother-in-law had texted to say there was no way of leaving the building. “Sorry guys for letting you down,” he wrote.

A bit later they received a voice message from their sister saying the family were just sitting in the flat. They’ve heard nothing since.