London police drag out Grenfell Tower fire investigation
By
Robert Stevens
12 July 2017
London’s Metropolitan Police announced Monday that “around 80” people died in the Grenfell Tower fire. The police claim that the first part of their criminal investigation into the fire concluded that 350 people were resident in the block of flats on the night of June 13/14.
The Met said 255 people escaped from the fire that began in the early hours of the morning and that an additional 14 residents were not in their properties when the fire occurred. On this basis, they concluded that 81 people are likely to have died.
The figure contradicts estimates by others, including demographers, residents and those who lived nearby—with figures by demographers ranging from 90 plus to 123. The police say their figures are drawn from a number of records, including census figures. But many estimate that the number of people who resided in the block was nearer 500.
The statement by the police is an about-face on their previous insistence that it would take until the end of the year to identify those who had died—such was the devastation, with more than 15 tonnes of rubble and ash to sift through on each floor.
The estimated mortality figure was part of a broader announcement amounting to a declaration that the police investigation is designed to perpetuate a cover-up. The police made clear that their supposed investigation to determine who is responsible for the fire could take years.
The Met has interviewed 140 witnesses, but states that there are hundreds more to interview—including the nearly 1,000 firefighters and police officers who attended the fire scene. The 255 survivors will also be interviewed, plus local people who witnessed the fire. The Met said they had also seized data…