checked out. and also the fire service needs to have enough resources that they can do regular checks and make sure that all the work done by the contractors hasn't compromised the fire safety. but above all there needs to be sprinklers. it is so heartbreaking for me to look back on what i said at the time, when the coroner said what he said about lakanal house, and see we must learn lessons so that this does not happen again, and to see once again, fire starts in a flat, and its place, and people are told to stay in their flats, and they lose their lives, and here it seems to be on a bigger scale. jeremy corbyn is calling for the government to make a statement in the house of commons tomorrow, even though the house of commons is not sitting because of the shambles that the government zone, the government should still make a statement in the house of commons. and we want to make sure that the council will be given the resources and the hospitals will be given the

resources needed to look after the survivors and then we must have an enquiry to learn the lessons of what happened in lakanal house, has happened in lakanal house, has happened in lakanal house, has happened in grenfell tower is, it must never happen again. the london tower block engulfed by fire — at least six people have been killed but the death toll is expected to rise. the blaze broke outjust before iam this morning when most were asleep. eyewitnesses say they saw people trapped in theirflats — is shouting from their windows — trying to throw their children to safety. it was so dark, there was so much smoke in theirfield it was so dark, there was so much smoke in their field stop it was so dark, there was so much smoke in theirfield stop people we re smoke in theirfield stop people were trying to run down the stairs. there was no sound of alarm or bells

at all. mothers have lost children, firefighters have come out and endurance that we don't know if they are going to come out safe. the tower is still burning 13 hours later — firefighters are still inside searching for survivors. the mayor of london says many people are unaccounted for. my my thoughts and prayers, as i'm sure those of the entire country, all with those affected by this tragic and horrific fire. grenfell tower had recently been refurbished — at a cost of £10 million — residents say they were astonished by how fast the flames spread. it's not clear what started the fire — london fire brigade‘s chief says she's never seen anything like it in 29 years of fire fighting. we'll have all the latest. at least six people are known

to have died in the huge fire which is still burning in a residential tower block in west london. up to 600 people may have been in grenfell tower when the blaze broke outjust before one o'clock this morning. around 70 people are being treated in hospitals across london and a major incident has been declared. residents who escaped spoke of people trapped in their homes — screaming for help, some holding children from the windows, others jumping from higher floors. a0 fire engines and 200 firefighters have been tackling the blaze. what caused the fire and why it spread so rapidly is unknown. the prime minister has said she is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life". 0urfirst report is from richard lister — you may find some of the images in his report distressing. the fire raged through the night.

a home to hundreds of people, was engulfed in flame. iran to the window and baggage of people shouting it is getting bigger. best of cladding wearer falling off. people were screaming. seeing people had their windows waving and desperately wanting someone waving and desperately wanting someone to come waving and desperately wanting someone to come and rescue waving and desperately wanting someone to come and rescue them out of their flat. it was just awful. neighbours came, desperate to help, but with debris falling from the tower block, their lives were at risk as well. he needs to ring 999. there is a

dedicated line for this incident. 0n the ground, police cleared a wide cordon and closed the nearby a40 in and out of london. some 200 fire engines were brought in to tackle the blaze. many people were led to safety, but some 50 were taken to hospital. people were screaming. complete nightmare, absolute nightmare. people throwing their cared so saying, save my children. the fire brigade and the ambulance and the police couldn't do nothing. they were just telling them to stay where they are, we will come and get you. but things quickly escalated.

everyone is just in shock. people are searching with pictures out. there were a lot of young kids and old people living in the block. and it went right up. there ain't no stopping it. fire crews are still trying to search the building but the fire was blazing all morning and it is a slow and dangerous task. the final number of casualties is still unclear. i'm very sad to confirm there have been a number of fatalities. i cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building and it would clearly be wrong for me to speculate further. the fire is not known at this stage stage. the incident is truly shocking. it will take some time before we truly understand what has occurred. the investigation will be complex and

very, very thorough. the tower block is now a smoking ruin. it should've been one of the safest in the borough, with a multimillion pound refurbishment completed only last year. many families are no homeless, another priority for the local authorities to deal with. we have to provide shelter to those who had to flee their homes and also the neighbouring properties affected by collapsing. we have to make sure the questions are answered. this is a community in shock. the immediate aftermath is bad enough but there will be a long—term effect as well. i've seen some things but today, i can't even describe it. there are mothers that have come out and lost their children. there are firefighters that have come out endurance that we don't know if they

are going to come out safe. people have lost their homes. children have seen have lost their homes. children have seen things. people were jumping out the window. we just need to rebuild asa the window. we just need to rebuild as a community now. as the search for casualties continues, so too does the search for answers. what led to this fire and, crucially, how did it spread so quickly in a modernised block, taking a number of lives? the grenfell tower block is in west london — close to some of london's busiest transport routes. the building in north kensington is close to the aao westway which is a main route into central london. latimer road tube station is close by and transport networks in the area have been closed off this morning. glenfell tower itself was built in 1974 and is 2a stories high. it was refurbished in may 2016 and contains 120 flats thought to be home to between 400 and 600 people.

what is happening now? iamon what is happening now? i am on the very edge of a police cordon. there are keeping people well back because of the amount of debris and cladding that has been falling off. they are not worried about the building falling down. the fire service commissioner said, despite the huge fire and the loss of life, the building didn't appear to be falling down. we have had a new fire rate in the middle of the building that has spread to the top of the building. there is still a

considerable fire blazing and it is very difficult for the firefighters to reach the middle of the building and the top of the building. they have brought in this hydraulic platform which is able to target hundreds of gallons of water into that fire in the middle of the building and that is hopefully putting out the worst of the fire, although as you can see there are still pockets. we still don't know why this happened. it clearly spread very quickly. 0ne resident told me she saw it starts about one third of the way up and she was taken aback by how quickly it spread up through the building. there have been six confirmed fatalities. more bodies and casualties will be found higher up and casualties will be found higher up the building. grenfell action

group have an online blog and have told us they have complained several times in recent years about what they describe as a considerable fire risk. eyewitness accounts tell us there were no fire alarms when it started. there were deeper concerns from residents about the kinds of building materials used in the construction and refurbishment of the building. those will come out at a later date but for now it is about getting things back to normal as far as possible. that will be a difficultjob. a local school's pupils were meant to be taking their gcse exams today. but they couldn't access it. it will be some time

before people are allowed access to the vicinity. the fire will have to be put out and the area declared safe. up to 600 people may have been inside grenfell tower when the blaze broke out. there are no clear numbers at the moment for those who are still inside the building or those who have been evacuated. 0ur correspondent tom burridge is there. people have been describing the screams of children trapped inside the building, people jumping screams of children trapped inside the building, peoplejumping from floros several stories above. one eyewitness was trapped inside —— saw

someone eyewitness was trapped inside —— saw someone trapped inside and didn't north they had escaped. there is the remarkable story of the woman who a p pa re ntly remarkable story of the woman who apparently threw her baby onto a makeshift parachute that residents had created below. we know that the baby survived but we don't know what happened to the mother. grief when it is raw. this area is known for london's notting hill carnival. today, struggling to understand how a fire could burn down a whole block of flats with such a devastating effect. this man lived there. there was so much smoke, people with luggage, so much confusion. there was no sound of fire alarm bells whatsoever. this was really horrific. there was a man who threw

two of his children. and this lady told us a friend and her three children were trapped high up in the building. a friend told me they have been looking for her since 2am and they couldn't find anything. theyjust told me to go to hospital and as you have seen, we don't know nothing what happened. we don't know if they are alive or dead. i got the extinguisher and try to put it out and it didn't work. we had no chance. the kitchen started to fill with smoke, so i had to run, grab my telephone and my passport and they are the only things i have at the moment. when the left—hand side of the building was on fire, i remember seeing on the right—hand side, i remember seeing what i could see was a woman and a young child, a young man or something, putting their heads out of the window. this community woke to a nightmare. whether an accident

or something more sinister, this is for all the wrong reasons anything but a normal day. people have come out into the street this morning, disbelief, some anger too. there are the charred remains of the building all over the street here, it is lifted, and there is a stench of the fire in the air. and this is a page of someone's maths homework. in no time, people rallied around. handing out and collecting, helping as they could. please do spread the word. if people just come down, empty their pockets, that would be amazing. people have just come out of their houses, out of their homes. really via social media, really, and the response is amazing. it's a very caring team in there. we were here two hours ago leaving and we are back, so many more people. there were also small moments of relief and joy among all the sadness.

i havejust found out from a very good friend, her daughter was separated from her, we have just got news that, thank god, she has been found. it is just really, it is unbelievable. she has been found. she is in a hospital though. there was plenty of confusion about how many people have been killed, whether people this morning were still trapped. from the rumours circling among the residents here, it doesn't sound good. people were bringing personal items

toa people were bringing personal items to a day centre for those who have been affected. the latest from the press co nfe re nces been affected. the latest from the press conferences one hour ago where that six people have been confirmed dead bat that figure will likely rise. 7a people have been treated. the fire chief said she had never seen the fire chief said she had never seen anything like this. she had seen many seen anything like this. she had seen many tower block fires in her career. there may be more bodies inside and it will be a long time, not only before they stop the actual operation but until they conclude the investigation and work out how many people died. this is a central information point

with lots of families coming to find out about loved ones. volunteers are providing hot meals, water and general counsel to families who are distressed. this wasn't the only tower block affected, some others in the area were evacuated so there are lots of residents from those tower blocks that were evacuated, looking for information about when they can go home. one young mother said to volunteer, what am i going to do tonight, i need somewhere to sleep. i have a young daughter and we need to know what we can do for a bed.

there is a lot of anxious people and people trying to give support. just to clarify, i there are people who have been evacuated from nearby buildings as well as people who were in grenfell tower itself? that's correct. we met residents from blocks nearby that were evacuated and they have nowhere to go so they are sitting round waiting for information about when they can go back home. for the people who were there from g re nfell tower, for the people who were there from grenfell tower, what have they been telling you about their experiences and how they managed to escape? we haven't spoken to too many people around here. a lot of people round here are from residents around the tower. we saw a few tearful reunions

from early this morning, probably from early this morning, probably from people who were from grenfell tower. generally, there are dozens of families and people keep coming. we will keep an eye on the integrity of the building, with that other fire breaking out in the tower. another breaking story. the senior republican steve scalise has been shot and wounded. the gunmen is

reported to be in custody and is said to be a middle aged white man. 0ur correspondent is at the scene. what happened ? about two hours ago, one man carrying a long rifle approached the field where congressional republicans were practising baseball. there is a big democrats versus republican baseball game they play every year and that man opens and fired many shots. five people we re and fired many shots. five people were hurt including steve scalise, who is the third ranking member of the republican house of representatives. part of the reason they were able to respond so quickly is that as a member of the leadership team he has his own security detail. they responded to

the shot. i was speaking to another member of congress this morning and he said if it wasn't for that security detail there would have been more casualties. what about the condition of the others who were shot? we understand they are alive but we do not have the same updates on them. a republican from alabama told media he was the first to administer aid. has there been any reaction from the white house? donald trump and make pens have been informed of the incident. that is all we have from the white house so

far. —— mike pence. and no idea of a motive so far? nothing so far. it is much too early for speculation. let's return to the huge fire in west london. the cause is as yet unknown. kensington and chelsea council says it will be fully investigated and that the tower block was regularly investigated. these pictures were at the height of the blaze earlier this morning. some residents had warned previously of the risk of fire and had also said they were advised to stay in their

flats if there was a fire. the mayor of london said this will be neat to be looked into. shocked witnesses talked about the speed at which the grenfell tower fire spread, there did seem to envelop the 2a story building injust 30 minutes. investigators will be asking how that could have happened. i was taking videos at 1:30am and it was right from the bottom straight to the top and moving across the building. the movement of the fire across the entire building took no more than half an hour. the tower was built in 1973 but had an extensive refurbishment last year and attention is already focusing on the rainproof cladding which was added on the outside to boost integration. the worry and this is just speculation at the moment, that the fire might have spread across it. the cladding system is there to prevent water coming into the building but it also creates a cavity around the back between the outside face of the building

and the concrete structure. it should have fire stops at each floor level or should be noncombustible to prevent it acting as a chimney and allowing the fire to spread. residents had more concerned that the advice was to remain behind the fire retardant doors of their flats rather than escape, to stay put. and that there was no central fire alarm system. these practices which depend on fire being containable in one area of a building. the residents action group said it flagged dangers but all warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted a catastrophe like this was inevitable in just a matter of time. there are a number of tower blocks across london and across the country and responsibility lies with the local authority or private management companies and they need to make sure that tower blocks are safe. i will be asking questions about the

fire, the sort of questions your viewers are asking and residents are asking. the answers will be crucial to ensure other tower blocks are not in danger and to make sure that firefighters have easy enough access to the building. firefighters would normally fight a fire like this from the inside. going up the fire escape and using fire rise means but that has not been possible in this case. rydon construction told us... but to avoid further catastrophic fires, the fire protection association says the increasing use of combustible materials and construction needs to be addressed. that is likely to be a major focus of investigators.

these are the live pictures from the scene in west london. six people are known to have died in this fire, which is still burning, although as we we re which is still burning, although as we were hearing, firefighters feel that the fire is now effectively under control. up to 600 people may have been in the tower when it broke out and that was just before 1am this morning. police and first responders are urging people to call an emergency number. they are keen to talk to people who

may have traced relatives or friends since reporting them missing. the need to know if you managed to find your loved ones after the fire so they can get a clearer picture of how many people they still potentially could be dealing with. earlier we spoke to mickey, who managed to escape the building with his partner. he was alerted by people shouting. there was a fire in the area recently without such serious consequences. how did you managed to get out? i love them so i wasn't going to go

out on my own. i made sure they were all right with breathing and took them down. your thoughts are obviously with those who have lost their lives. my those who have lost their lives. my heart goes out to everybody. the ones who have passed and the ones who are still here. this is traumatic. this isn't something you are going to get over tomorrow and go and have a couple of pints and laugh about it. i am gutted. my life has turned upside down. we have lost everything. we were starting afresh. we had done the house up. we've lost everything. people had given me clothes today. thank goodness for people's generosity. 0therwise clothes today. thank goodness for people's generosity. otherwise i would be walking about in smelly boxer shorts. where are you going to sleep tonight? up tonight? up that tree. it's desperate. what we don't want to do is go with that

and then lose out on our accommodation. if they think you have somewhere to go you get pushed to one side and you are left up the canal without a paddle. we will pause to get the weather. it is england and wales getting the sunshine today. there are a few outbreaks of showers in the north west of scotland and the odd isolated shower in northern england. a big range of temperatures across the uk but up into the 20s for some in south—east england. it will be a warm night tonight and be many parts. a few spots of rain reaching

wheels and western england at the end of the night. that moves east toward all. the showers dying out on the system but introducing fresh air across the uk. the breezy day with good sunny spells although heavy showers in northern ireland and scotland. the london tower block engulfed by fire — at least six people have been killed but the death toll is expected to rise. up to 600 people lived in the building — the blaze broke outjust before 1am this morning when most were asleep. you need to call 999, there is a dedicated line for this incident! there was no sound of alarm or bells at all. eyewitnesses say they saw people trapped in their flats,

shouting from their windows, trying to throw their children to safety. it was so dark, there was so much smoke in there. people were trying to run down the stairs. some people had luggage. it was so much confusion. there was no sound of alarm or bells at all. the tower is still burning 13 hours later — firefighters are still inside searching for survivors. the mayor of london says many people are unaccounted for. my thoughts and prayers, as i'm sure those of the entire country, our focus now is search and rescue, although we're going to move to — i'm afraid — recovery. of course we've got to make sure that in the meantime we provide shelter to those who've had to flee their homes. grenfell tower had just been refurbished in the last year — at a cost of £10 million — residents say they were astonished by how fast the flames spread. it's not clear what started the fire — london firebrigade's chief says in 29 years of fire fighting she has never seen anything like it. we'll have all the latest. in other news a us congressmen has

been shot during a baseball practice session in virginia. he has been injured. we are joined from nottingham, by the general secretary of the fire brigades union matt wrack. i wonder what your thoughts are on this fire. i am horrified at the scale and the devastation it has caused. people have lost their lives. it's absolutely appalling. 0ur lives. it's absolutely appalling. our thoughts are with them. and with the firefighters and other emergency services on the scene, trying to save lives and limit the damage. it's a truly horrific incident. can you give us some it's a truly horrific incident. can you give us some sense it's a truly horrific incident. can you give us some sense of what it is like to deal with a fire in a tower block such as this one? what has happened here is very unusual, i have lived in a tower block and four fires in them. they are designed to

be able to fight fires, normally from the inside. there should be... a fire would normally be restricted to the flat of origin, firefighters would be able to enter to put water into the building and fight the fire by walking up one flight of stairs. what has happened here is the fire is, people have said, it has spread enormously rapidly and engulf the whole building. that is completely unusualfor whole building. that is completely unusual for us to have to deal with. can you give us any insight as to why a fire would spread so quickly in the way you are describing?” don't want to prejudge anything, certainly there will have to be a thorough investigation of this. the building which was apparently built in the 70s would have met the regulations required then. it does sound from the reports that it has been refurbished to some degree. i think all of that will have to be looked at. as to what has happened and how it has been refurbished, has

that had an impact on the fire protection built into the structure? clearly something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. our understanding is that residents were given advice that residents were given advice that in a situation like this, they should stay inside and close their front doors, which would chime with what you were saying about fires being dealt with from within. i suspect there will be people watching this and hearing this who will think, if something similar work you happen to them, their first instinct is to run away. what is your advice? i think people should ta ke your advice? i think people should take advice of the local fire and rescue service than from me. and from the landlord of where they live. clearly, a tower block would be built so there should be a safe means of exit, the fire escape should make sure smoke does not enter, so people should be able to escape from fire. if the smoke is contained in the fire is contained, then normally a fire in a tower

block will not affect people more than a floor above or below. that's how they are designed. clearly in this case that has not happened. that needs to be looked into. no doubt there will be a very thorough investigation. in terms of from a firefighters point of view, something else we are hearing is that firefighters had difficulty accessing the building. what kind of challenges will they have faced today? i have heard again, i am in nottingham and dealing with second—hand, i have seen press reports. we will visit the scene and speak to firefighters on the ground as to what has happened. clearly in this day and age there are lots of security measures built into properties which are for people's security when they are in the home ora security when they are in the home or a tower block like this. what firefighters need to do in those situations is be able to access places very quickly and security in

that case, obviously slows people down. i don't know the details of what's happened in terms of the delay, if there has been any delay in access, in this particular case. can you talk to us a bit more, you mentioned there were different kinds of regulations for different buildings. presumably, their industrywide standards for tower blocks of a certain height, for example? this will have met the building regulations, i'm not an expert but this will have met the building regulations at the time. responsibilities subsequently would rest with the owner or will be landlord, or the managers of that building, to make sure that the building, to make sure that the building continues to comply, that it should be fire risk management processes by the owner of any such property to make sure the residents are kept safe. and that nothing is done to compromise the safety of firefighters who may have to into that building to fight a fire. i

don't want to prejudge anything at this stage. so all of that will need to be looked at, but clearly, any landlord owning a building like that should be making sure it complies with any necessary regulations, that there is risk assessment being undertaken to ensure that safety is maintained. thank you, matt wrack. we are grateful for your thoughts. i wa nt to we are grateful for your thoughts. i want to show you the front page of the london evening standard. i don't need to say much more than is on that headline. 0n the line is the photographer jeremy selwyn — from the london evening standard — who was at grenfell tower in the early hours of this morning. by by around around —— i arrived around 3am to see the scenes of carnage in front of me. nearby i walked towards the scene, just to see the whole tower block engulfed in flames. it

was one of the worst things i've seen was one of the worst things i've seenin was one of the worst things i've seen in 30 years as a photographer for the evening standard. your profession goes out the window when you see something like that? profession goes out the window when you see something like that7m profession goes out the window when you see something like that? it did. it took me back, i had to be honest. i've photographed some awful things over the years that this has two rate as one of the worst. i felt helpless. i could hear screaming people. i could see the fire brigade going in. to be honest, the acts of bravery there were beyond belief. i can't believe what it must be like to bea can't believe what it must be like to be a fireman. they really do put their lives on the line. my heart goes out to all of them, who really did such a fantasticjob. when i arrived, it was just carnage. did such a fantasticjob. when i arrived, it wasjust carnage. i could hear screaming. i could not do anything. what can you do, as a photographer? i tried to walk away to an advantage point where i took that picture. from another block of flats, somebody asked me to comment. i took the picture, which is from

quite a long way away actually. that ended up on the front page of the evening standard. that feeling of helplessness. we have heard that described by many people. they also remarked on the speed with which this fire took hold. that's something you must have seen?” know, i arrived at 3am and it was not engulfed in flames. it was half covered on one side. but then, i just watched it get light, and it became completely engulfed in flames, as you can see in the photo. nearly every floor is a light. it was within half an hour, it became com pletely was within half an hour, it became completely engulfed. from the time i arrived. and the sun came up behind it, it was extremely eerie scene, the smoke and the sunshine. through that lens of yours you must have seen some scenes in some that lens of yours you must have seen some scenes in some windows, that you will never forget? it was not a pleasant night. there were

some scenes, i don't think we printed those. it's not the sort of thing you want to see again. it's the sort of thing that we have photographed in these situations, in war zones and things like that. that's how it looked this morning. it looked like a scene from a war zone. i can't describe it any other way. it was shocking. it still is. at what point did that happen? 0bviously on one side you have a picture, you need to get it back to the office, you know how big a story this is. at what point do you sit and take stock? i've left this afternoon, i have come home. it does hit you now. i've been sitting down having a cup of tea, but you can't stop watching the news, it's impossible. i've walked away from but it's still there. i can see it. i feel like but it's still there. i can see it. ifeel like i'm still but it's still there. i can see it. i feel like i'm still there. but it's still there. i can see it. ifeel like i'm still there. it hasn't hit totally, yet. i'm just hoping the numbers of dead and

injured stay down as much as possible. we are all fingers crossed on that. looking at the scene live right now, i don't know if you are in front of a tv, but... it's such a dramatic image, but in such a different way. it just dramatic image, but in such a different way. itjust looks... how would you describe it? smouldering, a black correct. there is nothing like a block of flats any more. —— a black rack. it does look like a war zone. it looks like something has hit it, rather than it going up in flames. 0bviously hit it, rather than it going up in flames. obviously there is the, you can draw comparisons with the twin towers, the flames from the twin towers. this is obviously not a terrorist attack, but something like this, a dramatic scene in london, it's a dramatic thing for the evening standard to have to publish. headline none of us wanted to see.

jeremy, i'm gratefulfor your time. jeromy, the photographer who took that photo for the evening standard. that dramatic image thatjeromy selwyn took at 38 m —— at 3am this morning. it does indicate the scale of this tragedy. that fire still going some 13 hours later. with me is our science editor david shukman. the focus of any investigation seems it will centre on this refurbishment that has been going on, this cladding. what do they use, because it does appear that has gone quickly? something that has really shocked fire safety professionals i have been talking to so far today is the speed. dialling back a bit, the basic fire protection system that is meant to operate in a tower block like that, of that era, is what is called passive safety. that means

every wall, every ceiling, every door, is meant to be fire retardant. it's meant to buy the occupants 30 minutes, one hour, maximum two hours, in which to get out. in other words to contain the fire in 1—room flat in the building. clearly that has failed. there is a number of reasons why that may have happened. you mentioned the cladding. that is one of many focuses of the investigation, it's the sort of thing people will look at. last year, there was the completion of a major refurbishment that involved the cladding. it is useful and has become very popular in britain and around the world, because you can ta ke around the world, because you can take a tired old block and spruce it up. at the same time, if you fit the right panels, you buy energy efficiency as well. you provide much better insulation, if you think about the lack of insulation in a 70s building compared to now. it's a way of upgrading a building. clearly, those panels are designed to be fire resistant. but perhaps

only up to a point. 0ne focus will be, what temperature can they resist? 0nce be, what temperature can they resist? once you start getting that towering inferno effect, the temperature might get past the threshold that those panels can resist. then they join threshold that those panels can resist. then theyjoin in the blaze as well. 1.1 have picked up from talking to experts is that the passive safety system i mentioned is of course all about an internal fire. if the cladding catches fire, thatis fire. if the cladding catches fire, that is external. there are meant to be fire safety barriers that one horizontally, between each layer or section of cladding as you go up the tower. who knows how well they worked, whether they were installed properly. a host of questions around how well this job has properly. a host of questions around how well thisjob has been done. we're talking about a building nearly 15 years old, built at a time when there were nothing like the electronic devices people have now. —— nearly 50 years old. the cause of

the fire will be investigated obviously, but modern lifestyle would suggest that buildings like this struggle to cope. that's right. looking at a blog run by residents of the tower, one thing they occasionally mentioned is power surges. problem with the power supply. we all know how electronics don't like that. this is total spec and,i don't like that. this is total spec and, i have no idea, but you raised the idea of the profusion of electronic devices coupled maybe with an uncertain power supply is maybe something to do with it. thank you, david. downing street has said theresa may is deeply saddened by the loss of life in the grenfell tower. let's get more from vicky young who is in westminster. tell us more about the political reaction? as you can imagine, mps very shocked. parliament is not sitting at the moment, the queen's speech supposed

to be next week may be delayed, but there are mps around westminster getting settled into their offices. we spoke and i know you spoke earlier to harriet harman, the labourmp, she is earlier to harriet harman, the labour mp, she is visibly shocked about all this because she says something similar but not on such a large scale happened in her own constituency a few years ago. back then a lot of talk about lessons being learned, changes to be made. is angry and upset but that does not seem is angry and upset but that does not seem to have brought about any changes. politicians are obviously worry about saying what might be to blame here. but there is talk already from some labour mps about whether there is a cost element to this. whether councils could not afford to put in sprinklers. some cutbacks, labour say, to the fire service mean the kind of inspections they used to carry out have not been done. that should have been done. in the last few minutes we have heard from jeremy corbyn, the labour leader who has been answering questions about the tragedy. totally

shocked by it. it's the worst nightmare any man can think of. a fire ina nightmare any man can think of. a fire in a tower block. sympathy, support and solidarity to all those that are stuck in the tower or have managed to be rescued, or lost loved ones do not know what has happened to their friends and family. a huge thank you to fire service, police, and ambulance, and all the other emergency services that got there so quickly. they were on the scene within six minutes. but fighting a fire ina within six minutes. but fighting a fire in a massive tower block like g re nfell tower fire in a massive tower block like grenfell tower is a huge and very dangerous undertaking. just think about it. we are in a tower block thatis about it. we are in a tower block that is on fire, we want to get out as quick as we can, the firefighters and the police and everyone else had to go in. go into that incredibly dangerous place. we rely on them. we should say thank you to all of them for what they have done today, and all the other days that they do it. people have pointed to the last such tragedy in 2009 when someone said

there were lessons to be learned about fire protection and buildings. do you think those lessons have been learned? there were clear lessons to be learned then about the installation of sprinklers and the dangers, the need for equipment to fight fires in high—rise buildings. 0ur fight fires in high—rise buildings. our country has more high—rise buildings than ever before. look around behind me in the london skyline, you see them all the time. there has to be very strong fire regulations, which there are, but there has to be a stronger sprinkler syste m there has to be a stronger sprinkler system installed particularly in residential tower blocks that may be do not have them at present time. those lessons have to be learned and harriet harman the mp for calm well and peckham, who represented those people who suffered in the fire in 2009 has made the point but if you cut local authority expenditure then the price is paid somewhere. do you think actions that should have been taken somewhere have not been? and not making that statement yet. today is the day to support emergency

services and the residents and thank all those that have given other help. food, water, clothing, shelter, support. all those that have come forward to help people in a time of need and stress. and thank you to all those in the community that have come together in the most amazing way to support people. tomorrow is the time to ask all those questions. today, let's concentrate on dealing with the consequences of this fire and trying to bring comfort and safety and safe life where ever it possibly can be saved. if we asked those questions tomorrow, can you give us saved. if we asked those questions tomorrow, can you give us an saved. if we asked those questions tomorrow, can you give us an idea we might be looking into? the preventative measures that were available not available in the tower. the facilities, available to get in and out of it in an emergency situation. and the numbers of people available to the fire service, paramedics, a emergency services, to deal with a crisis like this. we thank all those that work so hard in

our emergency services but we have to make sure we are properly resourced to deal with this kind of crisis should it occur anywhere else. today, let's concentrate on saving life. will your questions concerned politicians? there has been talk of a review that should have been carried out that some people have suggested was not carried out? a review took place after the fire in camberwell. the government has that review. i believe we need to ask questions about what facilities and resources have been given to every local authority that has tower blocks in that area, and frankly, most do. we need to deal with this. we need people to be safe living in high—rise buildings. people to be safe living in high-rise buildings. do you think any of those people involved current serving front bench politicians? obviously minister that served and received this report must be questioned. but today, every focus on every concentration must be on

saving and protecting life. that was jeremy corbyn speaking earlier. vicky, one thought in the wake of the fire. has the business of putting together the next government effectively been put on hold? yeah, we are in this strange position will be notaries may has been trying to doa be notaries may has been trying to do a deal and have talks with the democratic unionist party. that seems to be on hold for now. but they do say progress is being made. we know also there will be a contingency meeting this afternoon. it's not a full cobra emergency meeting, but there will be those who are getting together, politicians, the fire service and others. a lot of emphasis to. you could hearfrom jeremy corbyn, trying to be careful to say this tragedy is still unfolding. people in a state of shock. the question should come tomorrow. there was some suggestion that labour might talk about trying to get a minister to make a statement even though parliament is not sitting. they could somehow do it in not sitting. they could somehow do itina not sitting. they could somehow do it in a different room in parliament, because it does seem

strange at this time that there will not be a moment where mps come together with ministers to discuss all of this. but there are questions already being asked about money, and building regulations. and, as we have heard, why lessons do not seem to have been learned from what happened a few years ago. for now, thank you vicky. so what are the challenges facing fire fighters at grenfell tower this afternoon? let's speak to tony bolder, he's a former fire fighter with humberside fire and rescue service. he helped put together theirfire plans on high rise buildings. before i ask you any question, you will know better than anyone what people are going through right now. 0ur people are going through right now. our thoughts have to be with them. indeed, andi our thoughts have to be with them. indeed, and i send my sincere condolences to the families of eve ryo ne condolences to the families of everyone that has been involved, and those who have tragically lost lives today. high—rise buildings are one of the dangerous incidents of firefighters in the uk. previously

at other areas, firefighters have lost lives in these types of properties. it's very difficult, the fire service have very tight operational procedures about how they react to these types of incidents. we just heard from a photographer watching the fire this morning, describing firefighters going into the tower block as it was ablaze. you cannot possibly know what you are really going to face. you are risking everything? yes. there is a standards operative procedure for the uk fire service, upgrade takes its own take on that. underwood have done their own risk assessment on every particular one of those buildings that they have done. what they have to do is put all those resources through a final, where they will make a bridgehead on the second floor. the fourth originally, then from there all their operations have to be contained up the stairwell. normally there is an expectation that the fire service have those passive, as

you have probably heard a lot today, passive protections in place such as protective stairwells they will use to make their way up the building. in this particular situation with that all been completely compromised, they had to find it extremely difficult to make their way up the building and make things safer for them. you've got restrictions with the breathing apparatus they will have, making their way up apparatus they will have, making theirway up and apparatus they will have, making their way up and down so they remain safe. you are faced with a scene from hell. you have flames, smoke, you hear people screaming. how do you hear people screaming. how do you decide how he was —— how you react to that? you hear people screaming and go and rescued? they will be briefed at the bridgehead operations when they start. they will look at whether fire is contained two. in this particular case, normally firefighters in these incidents usually are trained for a single, maybe two or three flats fire, not the whole building. they will have been given a brief but

then the operational crew will be in crews of three or four, together, and separately in different crews as they go. they will make their own practical decisions as they go. paramount is their own safety, as well as trying to get people out and fight the fire at the same time. it's a multitude of things at once. in terms of the advice to people in the flats to stay and put a wet towel under the door, i mean, the flats to stay and put a wet towel underthe door, i mean, is that something you think need to ruin given that had no affect here? i don't want to comment on that really, but councils are saying through this discussion with local fire brigades, they have an idea of whether it's a stable policy or not. there are pros and cons for both but because of the compartmentalisation of this building, that policy has not worked. a firefighter with the rescue service. thank you so much for your time, tony. police have asked people who are concerned that loved ones are missing,

or to report that they are safe, to call the casualty bureau emergency phone number, that is 0800 0961233. let's catch up with the weather now. here's nick miller. high pressure is exerting its influence in england and wales today. this is where we see the lion's share of the sunshine. closer to low pressure for northern ireland and scotland. while many places will remain dry, there will be the chance for catching a shower the further north you are, some fabrics of rain. the contrast between sunshine and cloud on the satellite pictures so far today. some patchy cloud developing in england and wales, little dough across southern areas. cooler on the coasts compared with inland. bear in mind, very high uv levels in the sunshine and very high pollen levels across england and wales. temperatures in the 20s, upper 20s and south england. coastal parts of wales call—up and elsewhere

that still feeling warm and the sunshine. isolated showers breaking out in northern england, despite the cloud, northern ireland mainly dry. sally spells, some in scotland with a chance for showers. outbreaks of rain in the far north and north—west. breezy here compared with elsewhere. plenty of fine weather, if you're going out and about. overnight through northern ireland, some patchy rain, some heavy rain for western scotland. figure cloud reaching western england and wales late in the night. quite a mile and muggy night across the east and south—east of england. sunspots staying in the upper teens, especially towns and city centres. if you tomorrow, a weakening band of cloud, introducing fresh air behind it. not wasting east anglia. breezy day, sunny spells. a few especially in scotland. could be heavy and bunbury. those temperatures down a few degrees. here's a picture for

thursday evening. still showers continuing in scotland, and northern ireland, most other places will be dry. looking ahead to friday, variable cloud, sunny spells, another weather system brushing western parts of scotland. fabrics of rain. temperatures and high teens and 20s. through the weekend, high—pressure, particularly into england and wales. images will be rising once again. sunspots, especially into the west and north of scotland. this is bbc news.

i'mjane hill in west i'm jane hill in west london where an entire tower block has been engulfed by fire. at least six people are known to have died, but the met police say the total is likely to rise. the fire broke out just before 1am. there is a dedicated line for this incident, 0k? thank you. witnesses say they saw people trapped in their flats shouting from their windows and trying to throw children to safety. it was so dark and so much smoke. there was people running down the stairs. some people even had luggage. there wasjust stairs. some people even had luggage. there was just so much confusion. there was no