Jun 2017 - my london diary - photographs of protests and events in London by Peter Marshall

'Day of Rage' march for Grenfell

London, UK. 21st June 2017

Marchers go down towards Parliament Square

Where they come to a halt, blocking the road

There is a lot of angry shouting calling for Justice for Grenfell

and for Theresa May to resign

People want answers, while Theresa May seems to be trying to focus just on one small technical matter of the nature of the cladding. But it is obvious
that the cladding would burn and would spread fire - and for that reason there were regulations about where it could be used and how it had to be applied to be safe. But these regulations were not enforced. When they should have been tightened they were not. Inspections were privatised and there was no strict quality control. RKBC paid for a consultant to help them avoid proper fire inspections. Government ministers cut essential safety regulations as a matter of policty calling them 'red tape' , and failed to implement the recomendations made after earlier fires.. Structural modifications were approved for Grenfell that cut the number of exits from two to one. Gas supplies were improperly fitted to save costs. Fire doors were apparently removed, plastics which produce toxic cyanide fumes on burning are permitted.... No sprinkler systems, no water available to fight fires in the top floors and so on. Many of the faults that were a port of the disaster at Grenfell are common to many other high rise buildings, particularly those which are a part of our social housing stock. Private developments generally have higher fire standards. That should not be the case. We need to get back to the kind of approach that I heard Ted Knight talking about at Central Hill Estate a few days earlier, building social housing to provide the best possible for people.

'Answers!'

Eventually, with a little persuasion from the police people began to move off the road and on to the grass

Government in this country has become class war - and the working class have been the losers. A couple of people from Class War

had come with one of their banners. On one side the message 'Spit Out the Lies they forced you to swallow', though perhaps

it has been more persuasion and the combined forces of mass media rather than force. The other side states the simple
and obvious. 'If you don't stand for something, you'll FALL for ANYTHING!'

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