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Adele pays tribute to Grenfell fire victims in rare video: ‘No one has been accountable’

Singer featured in video released by survivor group Grenfell United

Ellie Harrison
Tuesday 15 June 2021 11:30 BST
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Adele pays tribute to Grenfell fire victims in rare video.mp4

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Adele has paid tribute to the Grenfell Tower fire victims on the fourth anniversary of the blaze.

In a rare public appearance, the singer featured in a video released by survivor group Grenfell United to remember the 72 people who died in the tragedy on 14 June, 2017.

“Today marks four years since the Grenfell Tower fire, and still, there are so many unanswered questions,” said Adele in the clip, posted yesterday.

“Still, the trial is taking way too long, and still, no one has been accountable for that night’s events. And yet, Grenfell United is still out here, fighting tirelessly for the justice and for the change that not only they deserve, that their community deserve, that the whole country deserves.”

She continued: “And for that, I’d like to thank you. Thank you for putting your pain aside for all of these years to fight the fight. I can’t imagine the kind of personal consequences that has on you.

“I really hope that this time next year, you will have the answers that you will need to finally, finally be able to breathe together. I love you, I’ll see you soon, stay strong. We’re all with you.”

Adele was one of the first celebrities to go to Grenfell Tower in the hours after the fire happened. She was seen crying and consoling other mourners as they watched the firefighters deal with the aftermath.

An inquiry into the deadly blaze is ongoing. Yvette Williams – a spokesperson for the Justice4Grenfell group, which represents bereaved people and the wider community – recently said: “Not only is there still no clear sense of who is accountable… but people still have to live in properties deemed unsafe due to cladding of the same kind used on Grenfell Tower.”

Grenfell United, meanwhile, said there was still a “cycle of inaction and indifference”.

“We hear more damning evidence every week at the public inquiry showing us just how preventable the fire was – had they listened,” it said.

“Yet four years on, the government is as determined as ever to avoid taking any meaningful action to prevent another Grenfell.”

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