Summary
That’s your lot today. Here’s a summary:
EU citizens
- EU leaders have described the UK’s opening offer to protect EU citizens’ rights as vague and inadequate, suggesting the British government needs to go further. Donald Tusk, president of the European council, said the offer was “below our expectations” and would worsen the rights of the EU citizens.
- Theresa May has reaffirmed the importance of controlling migration to the UK from other EU countries as a central aim of Brexit. At a press conference in Brussels, she underlined the fact that once Britain formally leaves the EU, in 2019, controlling immigration will be a key priority, which she believes voters were demanding when they backed Brexit last year.
- Representatives of EU citizens in Britain have branded May’s offer to guarantee their rights after Brexit pathetic. They say the offer is damaging for Britons in Europe to whom, a fortnight ago, the EU offered a lifetime guarantee of all their current rights, something that the British team in Brussels failed to acknowledge on Thursday night, instead talking of how the UK’s offer was only on the table if it was reciprocated by the EU.
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May was the sole cabinet minister to block a unilateral offer to EU citizens that they could remain in the days after the referendum, according to the London Evening Standard. The paper, edited by the former chancellor George Osborne, reports that David Cameron had prepared an offer to give EU citizens certainty but May insisted on “blocking it”. May said this was not her recollection.
Grenfell Tower fire
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Police have said they are considering manslaughter charges in relation to the Grenfell Tower blaze as they revealed that the insulation and cladding tiles at the building had failed safety tests. Det Supt Fiona McCormack said officers had established the initial cause of the fire was a fridge-freezer and that it was not started deliberately.
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Hotpoint has urged owners of its fridge-freezers to check their model numbers for safety reasons after one of its models, the FF175BP, was identified as the initial cause of the Grenfell Tower fire. A spokesman urged consumers who believe they own that model or the FF175BG to contact the company on a freephone hotline or visit the website to register their details.
- Officials at Kensington and Chelsea council are withdrawing documents sent to survivors that they feared could have waived their legal rights in return for receiving emergency payments. A spokesman for the fire response team at Westminster council said: “There was an original form that was issued to get information to residents as soon as possible. This is now in the process of being withdrawn.”
- More councils and landlords have confirmed that they will be removing cladding as fire checks continue across the country. Residents in blocks in Hounslow, Portsmouth and Islington have become the latest to be told the cladding will be removed as a precaution.
Updated
One year on from Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the anniversary of the referendum was overshadowed by fresh outbreaks of doubt.
The problem – as both Brexiters and remainers unite in pointing out – is that once you start contemplating the need for a transition that is both half in and half out of Europe, the arguments in favour of staying put quickly mount. The lengthy transition phase desired by Hammond and others would retain many of the economic benefits of EU membership but with even less of the political freedoms said to motivate voters than the country enjoys now.
The path from hard Brexit to soft Brexit could become a slippery slope to no Brexit.
Updated
Portsmouth City Council is removing cladding from two high-rise buildings as a precautionary measure, it announced.
Following independent testing, cladding on Horatia House and Leamington House in the Somerstown area is being removed to ensure the highest safety standards, it said.
Luke Stubbs, deputy leader of the council said: “Like all councils, we have been working with the government and fire service to review our buildings. As a precaution we submitted some cladding for testing and the results that came back said the cladding on Horatia House and Leamington House was a fire risk.
“As a result we are removing the cladding from those buildings. Protection of Portsmouth’s residents is our number one priority and we will not comprise on safety standards.
“We will be removing the cladding as quickly as we can, in the meantime we would like to reassure residents we have conducted a full assessment of the buildings, with Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, and the buildings are safe to stay in with all of the existing safety measures still in place.
Theresa May has reaffirmed the importance of controlling migration to the UK from other EU countries as a central aim of Brexit, after a meeting with other EU leaders in Brussels.
At a dinner with the other 27 EU leaders on Thursday night, the prime minister outlined the broad principles of what she called a “fair and serious offer” to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK – before leaving to allow them to continue discussions without her.
But at a press conference in Brussels on Friday, she underlined the fact that once Britain formally leaves the EU, in 2019, controlling immigration will be a key priority, which she believes voters were demanding when they backed Brexit last year.
“I think what voters voted for when they voted to leave the EU was to ensure that outside the European Union the United Kingdom could establish our own rules on migration, from the EU into the UK, and that is exactly what we will be doing,” May said.
Theresa May’s proposals on the rights of EU citizens in the UK do not represent a “breakthrough” in the Brexit negotiations, Angela Merkel said.
The German chancellor said the prime minister’s plan, set out at the European council summit in Brussels, was a “good beginning”.
At a highly symbolic joint press conference with the new French president, Emmanuel Macron, the German leader said there was “a long way to go yet”.
Merkel said: “That was a good beginning but - and I’m trying to word this very carefully - it was not a breakthrough.
“We have said we want to pursue this matter in good co-operation but what has come out yesterday was also that we still have a long way to go yet.”
Updated
Here are the key points to emerge from May’s press conference:
Do the plans on citizenship amount to taking back control?
What voters voted for when they voted to leave the EU was to ensure that outside the EU, the UK could establish our own rules on migration, on movement of people from the EU into the UK. And that is exactly what we will be doing.
Are you going to have to go further to get a deal on EU citizens?
I remain of the view that it is a fair and serious offer. Those citizens from EU countries who have come to the UK … will be able to stay and we will guarantee their rights. I think that is a very serious offer. There are some differences between that and the proposals of the European commission. The matter will now go into the negotiations. I said all along that I wanted this issue of citizens’ rights to be one of the first issues addressed in the formal negotiations and indeed it will be.
Did you block an otherwise united cabinet who wanted to offer a unilateral guarantee to EU citizens after the referendum?
That is certainly not my recollection. I have been very clear it should be addressed at an early stage of the negotiations. We have made a fair and serious offer giving reassurance to all those EU citizens living in the UK. But I also want to see that certainty given to UK citizens living in the EU.
Do you have a mandate to leave the single market and customs union?
If you look at what happened in the general election, over 80% of British voters voted for parties who were committed to the UK leaving the EU and that’s exactly what we are going to do.
Will Brexit be good for Britain?
That’s exactly what we are working for. I have every intention of ensuring that we get a good deal for Britain and that not only will we be able to see a good, new, deep and special partnership with the EU, but we’ll also be able to take opportunities for global Britain to be out there trading across the globe, forming new trade agreements.
Is the issue of the European courts of justice crucial in the negotiations?
Leaders have reacted positively to me on the offer that we made. The question of enforcement is one that will be taken into the negotiations. From our point of view these [rights] will be enshrined in UK law. They will be enforced through the highly respected UK courts.
Have you protested about EU leaders issuing threats?
We have had a good, constructive start and we want to continue the negotiations in exactly that way.
Will the UK have a closer relationship with the EU than envisaged in your Lancaster House speech?
If you look at the election over 80% of people voted for parties that were committed to respecting the vote that took place a year ago, that the UK will leave the EU. I have always been very clear that the UK will be leaving the EU. We will not be leaving Europe.
We want a deep and special partnership to continue with the EU. And we remain committed to playing our role in ensuring Europe’s security and defence.
Updated
Here’s audio of May’s statement and brief press conference.
This is what she said in her statement on EU citizens:
Last night I was able to update other leaders on the UK’s proposal to give reassurance and certainty to EU citizens who have made their homes and lives in our country.
After the constructive start to our Brexit negotiations earlier this week, I wanted to briefly set out to my fellow European leaders the UK’s approach to giving reassurance and certainty to EU citizens living in the UK. I want all those EU citizens who are in the UK, who have made their lives and homes in our country, to know that no one will have to leave. We won’t be seeing families split apart. People will be able to go on living their lives as before.
This is a fair and serious offer. It gives those 3 million EU citizens in the UK certainty about the future of their lives and we want the same certainty for the more than 1 million UK citizens who are living in the EU.
On Monday I will publish my proposals in full and look forward to reaching an agreement at the earliest possible date.
Updated
Q: Will Brexit be good for Britain?
That is exactly what we’re working on, May said.
May says leaders, including Poland’s, have reacted positively to her offer on EU citizens. She said matters of enforcement would be subject to negotiation.
“We have had a good constructive start,” May said brushing off her spat with Jean-Claude Juncker after leaks about a Downing Street dinner.
May is asked whether the UK would go further on EU citizens. She repeated that the she thinks the offer is “fair and serious”.
Asked about George Osborne’s claim that she blocked a guarantee to EU citizens after the referendum, May said: “That is not my recollection.”
Updated
Theresa May is also giving a press conference in Brussels. On security, she said recent terrorist attacks in the UK and in Europe strengthened the need to work together to keep our citizens safe.
On defence, May said the UK would always be committed to the defence of Europe.
On the immigration crisis, she pledged £75m to help.
On EU citizens, she said the UK looked forward to reaching agreement at the earliest opportunity. She confirmed that full plans would be published on Monday.
Updated
Tusk also said the remaining 27 countries agreed on the relocation of two EU agencies currently based in the UK.
Here’s audio of his comments:
Tusk: May's offers on citizens is 'below our expectations'
The European council president, Donald Tusk, is giving a press conference in Brussels. He said EU citizens’ rights is the number one priority of the EU. The UK’s offer was “below our expectations” and risked worsening the current situation for EU citizens.
He said the EU would review the full details of the offer when they are released by the British government on Monday. He said Brexit did not take up much time during the summit.
Updated
What we know so far
EU citizens
- EU leaders have described the UK’s opening offer to protect EU citizens’ rights as vague and inadequate, suggesting the British government needs to go further. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, struck a dismissive note as he arrived at an EU leaders’ summit on Friday. “That is a first step but this step is not sufficient,” he said.
- Representatives of EU citizens in Britain have branded Theresa May’s offer to guarantee their rights after Brexit pathetic. They say the offer is damaging for Britons in Europe to whom, a fortnight ago, the EU offered a lifetime guarantee of all their current rights, something that the British team in Brussels failed to acknowledge on Thursday night, instead talking of how the UK’s offer was only on the table if it was reciprocated by the EU.
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May was the sole cabinet minister to block a unilateral offer to EU citizens that they could remain in the days after the referendum, according to the London Evening Standard. The paper, edited by the former chancellor George Osborne, reports that David Cameron had prepared an offer to give EU citizens certainty but May insisted on “blocking it”.
Grenfell Tower fire
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Police have said they are considering manslaughter charges in relation to the Grenfell Tower blaze as they revealed that the insulation and cladding tiles at the building had failed safety tests. Det Supt Fiona McCormack said officers had established the initial cause of the fire was a fridge-freezer and that it was not started deliberately.
- Hotpoint has urged owners of its fridge-freezers to check their model numbers for safety reasons after one of its models was identified as the initial cause of the Grenfell Tower fire. A spokesman urged consumers who believe they own that model or the FF175BG to contact the company on a freephone hotline or visit the website to register their details.
- Officials at Kensington and Chelsea council are withdrawing documents sent to survivors that they feared could have waived their legal rights in return for receiving emergency payments. A spokesman for the fire response team at Westminster council said: “There was an original form that was issued to get information to residents as soon as possible. This is now in the process of being withdrawn.”
Updated
The Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld, who is at the vanguard of the European parliament’s campaign for EU citizens’ rights, described Theresa May’s offer as “possibly the least generous” the UK could have come up with. She said:
This is not a matter of May doing any special favours for people, but it is a matter of rights which cannot be taken away or restricted arbitrarily. The UK is still a member of the EU until Brexit, so citizens must still be able to exercise their right of free movement until Brexit day. It is difficult to see how this offer could be viewed as “generous” or even “fair”. It is probably the least generous proposal the UK government could have constructed within the confounds of international law.
What May seems to propose is not granting rights to citizens, but actually retroactively restricting the rights they have acquired to date. These rights were acquired under EU law, so it is only natural that the ECJ [European court of justice] should remain competent. The retroactive restriction of rights is contrary to the democratic rule of law. Is this what Mrs May wishes to obtain for British citizens in Europe too?
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon has strongly hinted again she is preparing to postpone a new Scottish independence referendum in favour of striking a far better Brexit deal, after the Scottish National party lost 21 Westminster seats at the election.
She told an audience of landowners and farmers at the Royal Highland Show on Friday that the increased instability presented by the election result meant she and Theresa May had a duty to reduce uncertainty, and find a consensus on Brexit.
She implied that the hung parliament, which increases pressure on May to compromise with opposition parties on Brexit, could lead to a Brexit deal which lessened the case for a new referendum.
With popular support for a new referendum fading, Sturgeon substantially changed tack in the weeks before the snap election, dropping her demands in March for one by spring 2019. She told the Guardian in early June “none of us actually know” when the right time for that vote would be.
Questioned on Friday whether the lack of clarity about her referendum plans was undermining business confidence, by two property investment experts at the RHS event, Sturgeon said her “absolute priority” now was to build consensus on Brexit across the UK.
She said: “I think the outcome of the election UK wide opens possibilities that perhaps we thought were closed to us. I think there is, in particular, a possibility now of building a consensus across the UK against that hard form of Brexit that was being pursued previously. So that will be the priority of the Scottish government over the next number of months.”
Pressed on the lack of clarity on her plans, she said:
“The issue of a independence referendum is exactly as I have set out: it’s about not know, but when the time is right offering people a choice over whether when we know what Brexit looks like, whether that’s right for the country or whether an alternative path is right for the country.
“But in everything we do, a year on from the Brexit referendum, in my view should be about trying to limit that sense of uncertainty. For example, if we can get to the position which I hope, but I’m not certain that we can, of clarity around the transitional arrangements when the UK leaves, I think that starts to help to give that certainty
“So I appreciate and I’m not for a [moment] trying to suggest otherwise, of course people feel very uncertain and the Scottish government and the UK government have all got a responsibility to try to act in ways that limit that uncertainty and start to resolve it as quickly as possible.”
Jeremy Corbyn says Labour would offer a full rights guarantee to EU citizens living in the UK.
Speaking at Unison annual conference in Brighton he said:
Yesterday the prime minister put down her first offer in Brussels on the rights of EU nationals after Brexit but as our shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, has said, people should not be used as bargaining chips in the Brexit negotiations.
And what she has floated falls far short of the full guarantee Labour would make. That isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also the best way to guarantee the rights of British nationals living in the EU.
.@jeremycorbyn speech to UNISON annual conference https://t.co/dbGDBNPJyQ
— Labour Press Team (@labourpress) June 23, 2017
Corbyn got a rousing reception, according to the BBC.
Chants of "Oh, Jeremy Corbyn!" greet the Labour leader on his arrival to @unisontweets conf in Brighton pic.twitter.com/I06yOANICL
— Ben Weisz (@BenRTWeisz) June 23, 2017
Updated
Officials at Kensington and Chelsea council are withdrawing documents sent to Grenfell Tower survivors that they feared could have waived their legal rights in return for receiving emergency payments, the Guardian has learned.
A letter sent from the council this week to families affected by the fire asked survivors to sign a form confirming receipt of the emergency “compensation” money. The form, which would release the £5,500 pledged by the government to each survivor, stated: “I confirm that this is required to compensate me for expenses I have incurred or need to incur as a consequence of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.”
The document was in addition to the one sent by the Department for Work and Pensions after the prime minister announced the first £5,500 payments in the wake of the disaster, which killed at least 79 people in the west London tower block.
The European parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt has become the latest senior European to dismiss Theresa May’s offer on EU citizens living in the UK.
Mays "generous offer" does not fully guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK (1/2)
— Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) June 23, 2017
Hopefully the UK position paper, expected on Monday, will deliver what we are looking for (2/2)
— Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) June 23, 2017
The Grenfell Tower refurbishment used Celotex RS5000 insulation which sits behind the cladding panels.
The material is made from polyisocyanurate (PIR) which is combustible and produces toxic fumes when it burns – notably hydrogen cyanide.
In a report published in 2011, Anna Stec and Richard Hull at the Centre for Fire and Hazard Science at the University of Central Lancashire found that one kilogram of polyisocyanurate burning in a badly-ventilated area can produce enough lethal gas to fill 100 cubic metres.
The insulation has been through a number of tests to check whether it is safe to use on buildings above 18 metres. The most important is known as BS 8414 and involves subjecting to fire an eight-metre-high section of the entire wall you plan to build with the insulation in place.
One wall made with RS5000 insulation passed this test, but the pass only applies to the specific wall construction involved. In the test, the insulation was sandwiched between a steel frame and fireproof magnesium oxide board on one side and an aluminium rail and concrete fibre panels on the other. Grenfell Tower had different external walls with flammable cladding panels.
Updated
Islington council has confirmed that cladding is to be removed from Braithwaite House, a high-rise block within the borough, after tests revealed the presence of aluminium composite material.
Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington council’s executive member for housing and development, said:
As a landlord, safety is our number one priority and we will do whatever it takes to ensure people are safe in our estates.
Last night, we received results of tests on cladding on the side of Braithwaite House, and they have confirmed the presence of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM).
We’re arranging to have the cladding, which is only on the sides of the building, removed as soon as we possibly can by a specialist contractor.
We’re also stepping up safety measures in the block immediately, with fire safety patrols taking place day and night from today until the panels are removed.
Our housing staff were at Braithwaite House last night to carry out fire checks and clear any obstructions in communal areas. We’re also taking advice from London fire brigade and will follow all their recommendations.
We know this news will be distressing to residents. We have organised a drop-in session with residents today and also there will be an information point at St John’s Street area housing office.
Updated
Downing Street has said private landlords will not be compelled to carry out testing for flammable cladding on tower blocks, but local authorities will be advising them to have the materials submitted for testing.
The prime minister’s spokesman said the Department for Communities and Local Government had spoken to local authorities about private sector residential blocks. “The testing facility is available to them and we expect many will use it,” she said.
“We are not compelling them, local authorities are identifying private buildings which have cladding but we don’t know the number or volume of those yet.
“We expect private landlords which have cladding on their buildings will use the testing site and they will be responsible about that, that’s the message we are getting out to them.”
Downing Street said the 600 buildings identified yesterday for testing were all local authority-owned buildings. Local authorities were also examining schools and hospitals, Downing Street said.
Number 10 also said buildings regulations would be examined to see if the standards were high enough in light of the Grenfell fire. “In terms of regulations, we are going to have to reflect on issues that have been thrown up on building regulations and I’m sure there will be recommendations and issues raised throughout the inquiry that government will have to immediately look at to make sure the regulations are much clearer if that is proved to be an issue.”
Updated
May blocked plan to guarantee EU citizens' rights, Osborne claims
George Osborne’s London Evening Standard has more on the “problem with Theresa May’s position on European citizens living in Britain.”
He claims May blocked a plan to guarantee EU citizens’ rights after Brexit.
Here’s his paper latest editorial.
Once again, this morning, millions of families wake up among us not knowing whether they will be allowed to remain in the country where they have chosen to make their lives. There has to be a very strong reason of national interest even to contemplate causing such upset. There isn’t.
It seems very unlikely Spain would kick out our expats on the Costa del Sol, or that France would depopulate the Dordogne. But even if they did, no one really believes that Britain would deport the three million European citizens who live and work here. Why not? Because it would be a massive act of self-harm. As Mrs May said in February: “EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our economy and society and without them we would be poorer and our public services weaker.”
Threatening to make yourself poorer and your NHS weaker isn’t very credible. Nor does anyone believe that, even if she wanted to, Mrs May has the numbers to carry out her threat. She has barely persuaded her Conservative colleagues to back her plan. Last June, in the days immediately after the referendum, David Cameron wanted to reassure EU citizens they would be allowed to stay. All his Cabinet agreed with that unilateral offer, except his Home Secretary, Mrs May, who insisted on blocking it. A vote in the Commons earlier this year was only carried with a nod and a wink to Tory MPs behind the scenes that she didn’t really mean it. Since then, the Government has lost its majority and it seems likely that an opposition motion to grant EU citizens the right to remain unilaterally could be carried.
Our @EveningStandard editorial on why PM's threat isn't credible: we should unilaterally let EU citizens stay in UK https://t.co/qExngLVW8N
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) June 23, 2017
Updated
Manfred Weber, chair of the centre-right European People’s party, of which Angela Merkel is a leading light, has given a scathing assessment of May’s offer on EU citizens.
If PM May cannot come up with a more concrete proposal it is quite worrying for the rest of the #Brexit negotiations. #EUCO #EUcitizens 2/2
— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) June 23, 2017
His comments suggest Merkel was simply being diplomatic when when she described May’s offer as a “good start”.
Government orders examination of Hotpoint fridge freezer
Number 10 said technical experts were undertaking urgent tests on the Hotpoint fridge model that was found to have started the Grenfell fire. The model may yet be recalled if tests prove that there are flaws and any decision to recall will be taken shortly.
“Following the Met’s statement, the government has ordered an immediate examination of this unit by technical experts to establish the cause of the incident,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
“This testing will establish if further action if required.”
Consumers who believe they may own a Hotpoint fridge freezer model number FF175BP (white) or FF175BG (grey) are being advised to contact Whirlpool Corporation, the fridge’s manufacturer, but the government said at this stage there was no specific reason for consumers to switch off their fridge freezer pending further investigation.
In a statement, business secretary Greg Clark said: “The safety of consumers is paramount. The device is being subject to immediate and rigorous testing to establish the cause of the fire. I have made clear to the company that I will expect them to replace any item without delay if it is established that there is a risk in using them.”
Updated
Hotpoint has issued this statement:
“Words cannot express our sorrow at this terrible tragedy. We offer our most profound condolences to the victims, those who have lost loved-ones, homes, and possessions, and to their friends and families. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those involved, including the emergency services who risked their lives to extinguish the blaze and rescue those in the building.
“We have just been informed that the fire may have originated in a Hotpoint fridge freezer (model number FF175BP).
“We are working with the authorities to obtain access to the appliance so that we can assist with the ongoing investigations. Under these circumstances, we are unable to speculate on further details at this time. We are addressing this as a matter of utmost urgency and assisting the authorities in any way we can. We will provide additional updates as our investigations progress.
“Consumers who believe they may have a Hotpoint fridge freezer model number FF175BP or FF175BG should call our freephone hotline on 0800 316 3826 or visit hotpointservice.co.uk/fridgefreezer so that we can register their details and contact them with further information.”
Britons in Europe have vented their anger at May’s offer to EU citizens in the UK, saying she has “spun” the offer as something “generous” when it falls far short of the offer the EU made to Britons on 12 June.
Dave Spokes, a spokesman for the Ex Pats Citizens Rights in Europe said:
“We are not surprised that Mr Junker has described Theresa May’s offer on citizens rights as ‘not sufficient’.
“This reflects our own assessment. It seems a very odd strategy for the UK to offer less support for citizens than that being offered by the EU. Should they not be encouraging the the EU to give more?
“This is not a negotiation to get the lowest possible price. It is, or should be, a negotiation to gain the best support for real people - a country’s citizens.”
Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed Theresa May’s offer to allow EU citizens rights to stay in the UK after Brexit, but condemned the long delay in offering reassurances.
Speaking to reporters at the Royal Highland Show, Scotland’s preeminent agricultural show, on the anniversary of last year’s EU referendum result, the first minister said she needed to see “the devil in the detail” of the offer before reaching a final view on whether it went far enough.
“It has taken a year to get to this point and I think that’s disgraceful because the uncertainty caused to EU nationals has been considerable,” Sturgeon said. “And I think we will already have seen some choose to leave because of that uncertainty but the detail now matters.
“When we see that we will be able to see whether this goes far enough, or not, and it may well be in some cases it doesn’t.”
The Scottish government has been pressing UK ministers to offer EU citizens full residency, alongside protecting free movement for EU citizens, including migrant workers seen as essential by fruit and vegetable farmers. She said the details which needed clarification included confirmation of the cut-off date for applications and the rights of family members.
Sturgeon also reiterated her call for Holyrood to have full control after Brexit over common agricultural payments in Scotland, currently worth around £500m a year, to allow it to introduce subsidies tailored to the needs of Scottish farmers.
Holyrood has protected less favoured area subsidies for hill farmers which were abolished in England, amongst other distinctive policies. It is feared that Michael Gove, the new UK environment secretary, will insist on UK-wide farming policies and payments.
Here are the main points from McCormack’s statement and press conference:
79 people missing and presumed dead
The number that we have of presumed, confirmed dead, or missing still remains at 79, with nine people being formally identified as dead.
I know that there is a fear that that number is a lot higher and I do not want any hidden victims of this tragedy. We are prioritising establishing exactly who is was in Grenfell Tower that night.
Immigration amnesty
The Home Office has assured us that they will not use this tragedy to check people immigration status, and neither will the police. I urge people now who now people who were in that tower that night, either as resident of people visiting to phone the incident room on 0800 032 4539.
The investigation
This is one of the largest and most complex investigations that the Metropolitan police has ever undertaken. There are currently over 250 specialist investigators working on all aspects of this investigation. It will establish how the fire started and the speed and spread that it took hold of that building.
There are two points of priority for me: the speed that it spread through the building but also the internal safety aspects of that building. On the first point: we are examining with experts the aluminium cladding and the insulation behind the cladding; how the tiles were fixed to the building; and how it was installed.
Cladding failed test
Preliminary tests on the insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower show that they combusted soon after the test started. The initial test on the cladding tiles also failed the safety tests. Such are our safety concerns on the outcome of those tests, we have shared our data with the department of communities and local government, and we have ensured that that information data has been shared with every council.
Fire started in a Hotpoint fridge freezer
We are also concerned about the fridge freezer in this matter and we have been working with the department of energy, business, and industrial strategy who are working with Hotpoint on the safety of that fridge. We know this fire wasn’t started deliberately and we know that the fridge freezer in this matter has never been subject of a product recall before.
600 emergency calls some over an hour long
We have seized a huge amount of CCTV and we have received over 70 images and moving footage following our appeals.
On the night we received over 600 999 calls made to fire, ambulance and the police and we have listened to everyone of those to truly understand the fire and how it took hold that night. Some of those calls are over an hour long and truly harrowing in their content.
We have started to take statements from the occupants and visitors to Grenfell tower that night and this work will continue.
Every organisation involved in refurbishment being investigated
In terms of seizing relevant material from a number of organisations I can confirm that that has already started.
If I find out that individuals or organisations have committed offences then I must be in a position to prosecute without prejudice to any proceedings. We are looking at every criminal offence from manslaughter onwards. We are looking at every health and safety and fire safety offences and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.
We are not raiding. We have seized documents.
Search will last until the end of the year at least
Our search of Grenfell Tower to recover all those inside and return them to their loved ones continues. The working conditions are difficult and distressing in many ways. Such is that devastation this may take at least until the end of the year. And there is a terrible reality that we may not find or identify all those who died during the fire. Which is why I appeal to people who know people who are still missing to please come forward.
It is dangerous scene and so the investigation has to be done extremely sensitively. Working with the coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox on this and her and my absolute wish, is that we recover everything we can from that scene, and that we treat everybody there with integrity and dignity.
Updated
Here’s audio of the Scotland Yard press conference on the Grenfell Tower fire.
Updated
McCormack says she fears more people were killed in the fire. She warns that some bodies may never be recovered and that the search of the building could take the rest of the year.
Police considering manslaughter charges over Grenfell Tower fire
Police have said they are considering manslaughter charges in relation to the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze as they revealed that both the insulation and tiles at the building failed safety tests.
Det Supt Fiona McCormack, who is overseeing the investigation, said officers had established that the initial cause of the fire was a fridge-freezer and that it was not started deliberately.
She said they were trying to get to the bottom of why the fire started so quickly. Insulation recovered from Grenfell Tower had been tested, while the tiles tested were the same as those in the building. Both failed the safety tests, with the insulation proving “more flammable than the cladding”. Investigators will now seek to establish whether the use of these materials was illegal.
The manufacturer of the fridge freezer, a Hotpoint FF175BP, has been contacted, McCormack said. The model has not been previously subject to a recall.
Police said the official death toll had risen to nine but the number presumed dead remains 79.
McCormack said every complete body had been recovered from the building, describing it as a “very, very distressing scene”.
Theresa May has warned that the death toll could yet rise further.
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Speaking outside Scotland Yard, McCormack said 79 people are still missing presumed dead after the Grenfell fire.
The Grenfell Tower fire started in a faulty fridge, and insulation and tiles on
the block have failed safety tests, according to Metropolitan olice Det Supt Fiona McCormack.
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EU leaders have described the UK’s opening offer to protect EU citizens’ rights as vague and inadequate, suggesting the British government needs to go further.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, struck a dismissive note as he arrived at an EU leaders’ summit on Friday. “That is a first step but this step is not sufficient,” he said.
Asked whether he was any clearer about the kind of Brexit the UK wants, he was equally blunt: “No.”
May set out the offer on protecting EU citizens’ rights at the end of a dinner in Brussels on Thursday evening. She said it was “a fair and serious offer to protect the rights of 3.5 million EU citizens in the UK and 1.2 million Britons in the EU.”
Theresa May’s offer on residency rights for EU citizens has been dismissed as “pathetic” by a group campaigning for an estimated three million European expats in the UK, the Press Association reports.
Co-chair of the 3Million movement, Nicolas Hatton, said: “There is something slightly pathetic about the prime minister’s proposal which makes no reference to the detailed, comprehensive offer tabled by the EU. The Prime Minister described her proposal as fair and serious. It’s neither fair nor serious.”
The 3Million said May’s proposals failed to end uncertainty over the reunification of families, the right to work, the recognition of professional qualifications and the ability to retain UK rights when moving between and working across different European countries.
And the group said the UK offer lacked the lifetime guarantee of rights and enforcement by the European Court of Justice included in the formal proposal already tabled by the EU.
May has promised further details in a government paper to be published on Monday.
The cut-off date for residency rights - falling somewhere between the 29 March 2017 date of Britain’s formal notification of intent to leave and the date of Brexit, expected on 29 March 2019 - will not be known until later in the negotiation process.
It is thought the UK is reserving the option of setting an early cut-off for residency rights in case there is a late surge of migrants arriving as Brexit approaches.
But the introduction of a grace period raises the prospect that large numbers arriving during withdrawal negotiations may be allowed to remain. And the prospect of an early cut-off conflicts with the EU proposals, which would grant residency rights all the way up to the final date of withdrawal.
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Cladding is being stripped from a Manchester tower block as urgent tests are taking place on dozens more around the city, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Work was being carried out last night to strip material from a residential block in the Village 135 development in Wythenshawe after concerns were raised about the cladding.
Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG) which run the block however, say they were taking no chances and work to remove the material began this afternoon.
Cladding being removed from Village 135 development in Wythenshawe, Manchester in the wake of Grenfell Tower fire. pic.twitter.com/Gts7kshTQN
— BBC Radio Manchester (@BBCRadioManc) June 23, 2017
Police are due to give a briefing on the Grenfell Tower investigation at New Scotland Yard in the next few minutes.
For students of sibling rivalry, this could fun: Ed Miliband is due to interview his brother David, on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show at 1pm.
On today's show, I'll be talking to my brother David about the refugee crisis---the problem, solution and our own family's refugee history.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) June 23, 2017
A scoop for @Ed_Miliband today: he's interviewing brother @DMiliband on the @theJeremyVine show. Goes live at 1pm - public reconciliation?
— Jason Cowley (@JasonCowleyNS) June 23, 2017
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Labour MP David Lammy, whose friend Khadija Saye died in the Grenfell fire, is concerned that the current focus on cladding is diverting attention from the “criminal” failures at Grenfell Tower.
(2/?) Yes, we are uncovering a national problem. But that doesn't mean that Grenfell is not a crime, or should be brushed under the carpet.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 23, 2017
(4/) Grenfell victims tried to raise these issues. Fire alarms didn't work. People were told to stay in their homes as their homes burned.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 23, 2017
(6/) We still haven't heard from the police investigation. If the debate moves on from Grenfell, those responsible will get away with it.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 23, 2017
(7/7). So I will try to use my voice to speak up for the victims and survivors of Grenfell, and I hope that others will join me.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 23, 2017
Juncker also said he was no clearer about the kind of Brexit the UK wanted.
Juncker: May's citizens offer 'not sufficient'
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker didn’t seem that impressed with May’s offer on the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
Arriving for the second day of the summit he said it was a “first step, but not sufficient.”
.@JunckerEU #EUCO doorstep "PM May's offer on #citizens' rights is a first step, but not sufficient." pic.twitter.com/dXftTNCfRD
— Mina Andreeva (@Mina_Andreeva) June 23, 2017
May’s domestic opponents have been less diplomatic.
This doesn’t end uncertainty facing EU citizens who have made their home here. Shameful @theresa_may still using them as bargaining chips https://t.co/FU9XDidKkb
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) June 22, 2017
Too little. Too late. https://t.co/P7Xq5kaSqV
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 22, 2017
#bbcnews #TheresaMay offer on #rights of EU citizens already living in #Britain is not so generous: pic.twitter.com/SglWg3rl3t
— Richard Corbett (@RCorbettMEP) June 22, 2017
Police would face “real challenges” tackling a repeat of the 2011 riots following years of budget cuts, one of Britain’s most senior officers has warned.
A series of major incidents to hit the country in recent weeks had laid bare the strains faced by forces under financial pressure, Dave Thompson, chief constable of West Midlands police said.
Writing in a blog for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, he called on the government to boost investment, protect frontline policing and cut bureaucracy.
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The leaders of Camden Council faced a stormy meeting with residents of the five tower blocks on the Chalcots estate after their homes were found to be clad in a flammable material similar to that used at Grenfell Tower, the Camden New Journal reports.
Work has already begun to organise the removal of the cladding, but Camden’s lead Georgina Gould was unable to say when the panels would be taken down.
Residents repeatedly asked who was responsible for signing-off the work as safe and questioned why more thorough checks had not been carried out before it was installed.
Angela Bennett, who lives in Blashford tower, told them: “Although you are trying to help, I don’t feel reassured because I live on the 17th floor and as they said on the fire on Grenfell Towers, fire engines don’t go up to the 17th floor, everyone at the top of that building died. I know you are trying to reassure us, but I don’t feel reassured, because you are not doing enough to help at the moment. You can walk away to your houses, or wherever you live, we have got to sleep in our beds every night knowing what’s going to happen to us in these flats. You need to do more and you need to do it now.”
Teresa Ley said d. “[The cladding] is still on our building, we are living in a fire hazard and we have got to pay rent to live in a fire hazard. It’s disgusting.”
Camden Council leader Georgia Gould says residents in Chalcot tower blocks are safe - but cladding must come down as a 'precaution' pic.twitter.com/dlhxrqZK9t
— Camden New Journal (@NewJournal) June 22, 2017
Happy independence day?
Leave campaigners are wishing their followers happy independence day on the first anniversary of Britain’s vote to leave the EU.
They include Sammy Wilson, one of the 10 DUP MPs which the government is still trying to reach agreement with; the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan; and Ukip MEP Patrick O’Flynn.
One year ago we voted to #TakeBackControl and leave the EU. Happy #IndependenceDay to you all! 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/LPbBsMnDmR
— Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) June 23, 2017
This was what I found at the polling station in my little Hampshire village a year ago. I began to get a good feeling. #IndependenceDay pic.twitter.com/6gTo2oWcRR
— Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) June 23, 2017
Happy Independence Day UK. Attempts continue to subvert our vote to become a proper nation again. We will not let them succeed.
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnmep) June 23, 2017
And remember him?
This time last year we dared to dream and then won an historic victory. Happy Independence Day! pic.twitter.com/dURYiB8MqM
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 23, 2017
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The hotel chain Premier Inn has become the latest organisation to express “concerns” about the cladding used on some of its buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Three of its properties - in Maidenhead, Brentford and Tottenham - have been investigated during a “detailed assessment” of its estate.
A spokeswoman said the material was not the same as that used to clad the Grenfell Tower, but the company had called in an expert to review the safety of its buildings.
A spokeswoman said:
“Although we have concerns that the fire retardant cladding used may not adhere to recognised government guidance on compliance with the building regulations for use in high rise buildings, an independent fire expert has assured us that these hotels are safe and that they are entirely satisfied that there are robust fire safety measures and evacuation procedures in place to protect our guests and team members.”
The BBC’s Newsnight programme has more:
Hotel chain Premier Inn tells #newsnight that it is “extremely concerned” about the cladding on three of its hotels pic.twitter.com/SseQA1JNfl
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 23, 2017
On Thursday Downing Street said it had already identified 11 tower blocks across eight local authority areas with similar aluminium composite cladding, the type blamed for the spread of the fire at the north Kensington tower, which has claimed at least 79 lives.
Inquiries by the Guardian suggested that at least 25 towers, including 13 in London, nine in Salford and three in Plymouth, had cladding of the aluminium composite type, and 12 of these were believed by local authorities to have a combustible polyethylene core. Cladding at the other 13 high rises was still being tested.
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Here’s a readout of what May told reporters in Brussels
Q: The EU says that the cut of date for EU citizens arriving in the UK to get settled status must be March 2019 when we actually leave. Do you think you’ve got any realistic chance of getting anything better than that?
May:
“Well last night I was pleased to be able to set out what is a very fair and a very serious offer for EU citizens who are living in the United Kingdom and the Government will set out more detailed proposals on Monday. I want to reassure all those EU citizens who are in the UK, who’ve made their lives and homes in the UK that no one will have to leave, we won’t be seeing families split apart. This is a fair and serious offer. And I want to give those EU citizens in the UK certainty about the future of their lives but I also want to see that certainty given to UK citizens who are living in the European Union. Of course there will be details of this arrangement which will be part of the negotiating process but we’ve made what I believe is a very serious, a very fair offer which will give reassurance and confidence to EU citizens living in the United Kingdom about their future.”
Q: Many here in Brussels perhaps also think that you’ve given them quite a lot of what they’ve wanted and perhaps they also think that they also got they wanted on the sequencing as well. Does that mean that these talks are going rather well for the EU?
“There was a very constructive start to the talks at the beginning of the week. We’ve set out the issues that we want to start talking about. – early in the negotiations. I’ve said right from the beginning that I want citizens rights to be one of those early negotiations and it will be. We‘ve set out what I believe is a serious offer, a fair offer that will give the reassurance to EU citizens living in the UK, they’ve made their homes, they’ve made their lives in the UK and they will be able to stay and continue to do so. Thank you.”
EU citizens living in the UK should take “reassurance and confidence” from proposals for their post-Brexit status, Theresa May said on the second day of the EU summit in Brussels.
Speaking to reporters May acknowledged that elements of her plans would be contested by the EU.
“Of course, there will be details of this arrangement which will be part of the negotiation process,” she said.
But she added: “I want to reassure all those EU citizens who are in the UK, who have made their lives and homes in the UK, that no-one will have to leave, we won’t be seeing families split apart.
“This is a fair and serious offer. I want to give those EU citizens in the UK certainty about the future of their lives, but I also want to see that certainty given to U citizens who are living in the EU.”
Corbyn overtakes May in new poll
Jeremy Corbyn has overtaken Theresa May for the first time on the question of who voters think would make the best prime minister, a poll suggests, PA reports.
The YouGov/Times poll showed the Labour leader on 35%, ahead of the Prime Minister on 34%. Nearly a third (30%) said they were unsure.
It comes with May under intense pressure following a disastrous general election in which the Tories lost their majority and her authority was severely diminished after her highly personal campaign appeared to backfire.
In the days before the vote (June 5-7), May was ahead on 43% to Corbyn’s 32%, suggesting the aftermath of the election, in which the PM has been criticised over her response to the Grenfell Tower disaster, may have had an effect.
May has also been forced to ditch a number of unpopular manifesto promises from her first Queen’s Speech, which set out the Government’s legislative agenda for the next two years.
Corbyn used his response to the Queen’s Speech in the House of Commons to claim Labour is now a “government in waiting”, although he was mockingly praised by the PM for having “fought a spirited campaign and come a good second”.
A YouGov poll for The Times reveals voters think @jeremycorbyn would make a better prime minister than @theresa_may https://t.co/o8cRnktRw8 pic.twitter.com/O5xuuntpy1
— The Times of London (@thetimes) June 23, 2017
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Summary
Welcome to a Friday edition of Politics live exactly a year after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
The main issues continue to be the fallout from the Grenfell Tower fire and the latest from the EU leaders’ meeting in Brussels.
Here’s a rundown of the headlines:
- Theresa May makes ‘fair and serious’ offer on rights of EU citizens in UK
- Conservative party call centre ‘may have broken election law’
- Thousands warned their blocks clad with same panelling as Grenfell Tower
- Grenfell Tower survivors ‘too scared to seek help’ because of immigration status
- Spending watchdog condemns ‘risky and expensive’ Hinkley Point
- UK’s biggest political donor, Lord Sainsbury, to end his contributions
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