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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
BENEDICT MOORE-BRIDGER, James Morris

Grenfell Tower fire: London Fire Brigade voluntarily interviewed by Met Police under caution as survivors' group calls for people to be 'brought to account'

40 fire engines and 250 firefighters raced to the scene. (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

The Grenfell Tower survivors' group today said it is time people are "brought to account" after the London Fire Brigade gave an interview under caution as part of the Met’s probe into the fire.

The brigade said it was “invited to give the interview as a corporate body, rather than as an individual” in relation to sections of the health and safety act.

It said it wanted to make the news public “in accordance with its commitments to transparency and to assisting in every way possible to prevent such a devastating fire from ever happening again”.

Grenfell United, the survivors and bereaved families group, said it was "only right" that questions were being asked of the fire brigade.

It said in a statement: "It's been 27 months since the fire that killed 72 people. The first inquiry report is yet to be published and so far there have been no arrests.

"We have been very patient but in the months ahead we need to see organisations and individuals being brought to account, lessons being learnt and changes being made."

A total of 72 people died when the 24-storey tower block in north Kensington caught fire in June 2017.

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: “We have always been subject to the Metropolitan Police investigation and I want to ensure it is accurately and publicly known the brigade has now, voluntarily, given an interview ‘under caution in relation to the Health and Safety at Work Act’.

“It is entirely correct that we are part of the investigation. Hundreds of firefighters, officers and control officers have already provided voluntary police interviews and we will continue to do all we can to assist investigators.”

She added: “The bereaved, survivors and residents need answers and we must all understand what happened and why to prevent communities and emergency services from ever being placed in such impossible conditions ever again.”

Scotland Yard said it was aware of today’s statement by the LFB.

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