Grenfell Tower fire: MPs call for Government to seize control of Kensington and Chelsea Council

The council should be stripped of its powers, Labour and survivors groups say

Kensington and Chelsea admits there is ‘considerable public interest’ in releasing information but says it fears collapsing police investigation (Getty)

Kensington and Chelsea Council should be stripped of its powers following the “utter chaos” that has resulted from its handling of the Grenfell fire disaster, according survivors’ groups and the Labour Party.

They said the Government should impose new commissioners to run the local authority, which was plunged into further turmoil today after its leader, Nick Paget-Brown, quit after coming under intense pressure for his handling of the disaster, which claimed at least 80 lives.

Calls for his resignation reached fever pitch after he cancelled a meeting of the borough’s cabinet following a High Court ruling that handed the media the right to attend. The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman criticised the decision and declined to say if Theresa May still had confidence in him.

The deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Rock Feilding-Mellen, who was responsible for housing, also quit this evening. Earlier in the day, Robert Black, the head of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, stood down to “assist with the investigation and inquiry”.

Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, said that the Government must now act to ensure survivors are given the support they need by appointing new leadership.

“The response from the Government falls short of actually doing anything to address the utter chaos in the way this tragedy has been handled,” he said.

“Sajid Javid [the Communities and Local Government Secretary] needs to immediately ensure that all residents who are now homeless or in temporary accommodation are getting the support they need, and undertake an immediate review into the adequacy of corporate governance with a view to sending in commissioners to take control of the council if necessary.”

Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, echoed those calls, writing in a letter to the Prime Minister that the Government should appoint “untainted” commissioners to take over the running of the authority.

Yvette Williams, coordinator of the Justice4Grenfell campaign group, said the Government had to take concrete action, or risk civil unrest.

“We are definitely calling for the council to be brought under executive control. We’re calling for them to just go, the arrogance alone is just astounding,” she said.

“There has to be action, not just a statement anymore. Something needs to be seen to be done for the community. We are not just traumatised, we are angry. There will be civil unrest if this continues, there needs to be some kind of action that shows something is being done.”

In his resignation statement, Mr Paget-Brown described the Grenfell fire as “possibly the worst tragedy London has seen since the end of the Second World War”.

He conceded that the council had faced criticism for not answering the public’s questions and said he had to “accept my share of responsibility for these perceived failings”.

Kensington and Chelsea councillors also called for the Government to seize control of the council.

Liberal Democrat Councillors Andrew Lomas and Linda Wade wrote to Mr Javid on Tuesday to call for central government intervention.

“It is regrettable that we have had to call for such an intervention, and do not do so lightly. However, there has been a fundamental breakdown in trust between RBKC and those it has a duty of care to provide for,” they wrote.

Mr Lomas said the council’s response had displayed “rank incompetence” and the only solution was to replace those in power.

“As an elected councillor, if I feel shut out and impotent in these circumstances, then how do the survivors feel?” he said. “The council as a whole is part of the problem now, so part of the solution is trying to find a way of getting the community adjacent to Grenfell in the room so they feel they are being listened to.”

RBKC Labour leader Robert Atkinson and deputy Labour leader Monica Press said the council had to take responsibility for its failures by bringing the council under executive control.

“We are calling for the entire cabinet to resign and for commissioners to be sent in because we feel the cabinet specifically are not capable of managing, not only the current situation, but the borough,” Ms Press said.

“They took joint responsibility for those actions with the KCTMO and they decided to delegate far too much to the cabinet member for housing.”

Mr Atkinson said: “The council is simply not capable of organising anything. I want my residents to be rehoused, I want my residents to be given hot water, I want my residents to be taken care of.”

Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy, whose friend Khadija Saye was killed in the blaze, said bringing the council under executive control would be the only way to regain the trust of the local community.

Jeremy Corbyn yesterday urged Theresa May to broaden the scope of the inquiry into Grenfell by splitting it into two parts, the first looking at specific issues around the fire and the second to “look at the national issues".

Residents hit out at Theresa May’s appointment of Sir Martin Moore-Bick to lead the public inquiry on Wednesday after it emerged he had previously been accused of “social cleansing” after ruling in favour of Westminster council to rehouse a homeless mother-of-five 50 miles away in Milton Keynes.

The issue is of particular importance to Grenfell residents after the Government backtracked on its original promise to rehouse all victims within RBKC.

Campaigners called the appointment “deeply distressing” and “completely inappropriate”, and said it was outrageous that residents had not been consulted before the decision was made.

The retired Court of Appeal judge told residents on Thursday that he was “doubtful” the scope of the inquiry would satisfy their expectations.