No immigration checks on London blaze survivors : Theresa May

Grenfell Tower

London, June 22 – British authorities will not conduct immigration status checks on those affected by a blaze that engulfed a tower block in west London, leaving at least 79 people dead, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday.

On June 14, Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey social housing apartment block, home to many lower-income and ethnic minority families, went up in a huge blaze that gutted the vast majority of the building and rendered it uninhabitable.

“I would like to reassure people that we will not use this tragic incident as a reason to carry out immigration checks on those involved,” May was quoted as saying by Efe news.

May, setting out her Conservative government’s relief operations for the survivors, said: “We will make sure that all victims, irrespective of their immigration status, will be able to access the services they need, including healthcare and accommodation.”

The Tory leader added that each adult affected by the fire was entitled to 500 pounds ($632) in cash and that accommodation was being made available nearby.

May’s statement to the House of Commons was set to a backdrop of a wider political debate over possible government failings leading to and in the aftermath of the blaze, for which she is launching a full public inquiry.

“For any guilty parties there will be nowhere to hide,” she said.

Nicholas Holgate, the head of Kensington and Chelsea Council where Grenfell is located, was forced to resign earlier on Thursday amid harsh public criticism over the local authorities’ response to the tragedy.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed Holgate’s resignation but asked why local council leaders were not taking responsibility for the disaster.

Questions were being raised about the building’s cladding, which was added during a multi-million-pound refurbishment in 2016, and is thought to have been flammable, causing the fire to spread at great speed.

May told the Commons that inspectors were examining 100 tower blocks a day across the UK and confirmed that similar combustible cladding had been found on other buildings, but would now be made safe.

Corbyn insisted that although it would be expensive to remove such cladding, funds should be made available to that end.