Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster are to be banned from the first meeting of senior councillors since the fire amid fears of “disruption”.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) said Thursday's cabinet meeting will be held in private, chaired by the under-fire council leader.
Attempts by protesters to storm Kensington Town Hall on 16 June, two days after the tragedy, are cited as reasons why the public will be shut out.
Councillors will be convening to discuss the Grenfell Tower fire, according to a notice on the local authority's website, joined by support officers and “invited guests (if any)”.
The notice said: “Please note this meeting will be held entirely in private session, pursuant to Standing Order 31.01, in the light of the risk of disruption (as witnessed on Friday 16 June) and consequent security and public safety concerns.
“As such it will be open only to council members, support officers and invited guests (if any).
“The public minutes of this meeting will be published, in due course, on the council website.”
It is unclear whether any survivors have been invited to the meeting as “guests”.
RBKC has come under intense criticism for its response to the crisis, with many residents claiming they had been left to fend for themselves.
Its chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, quit his post last week, allegedly under pressure from Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid.
Calls have been made for the council leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, to follow, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan demanding the resignation of the entire council leadership.
On 16 June, dozens of protesters infiltrated the authority's building in west London as anger boiled over about its handling of the situation, with crowds yelling: “We want justice now.”
Press Association
