this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11.00. bereaved families of the grenfell tower disaster will pay tribute to their relatives — as the public inquiry into the disaster gets underway. it will be a moving day, the beginning of two weeks when all those relatives and loved ones of the 72 people killed by the fire will get their chance to pay tribute to those who were killed. also this hour — it's being billed as the biggest overhaul of uk rail timetables. changes have been made to every service on great northern, thameslink and southern routes, but dozens of trains are cancelled as the timetable comes into effect. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — the british womanjailed in iran — is told to expect another conviction after appearing in court charged with spreading propaganda. good morning.

it's monday 21 may 2018. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire is about to get underway. family and friends will remember the dead in what have been called "pen portraits" — made up of speeches, photos and videos about their loved ones. the presentations are designed to ensure that the inquiry never loses sight of what its work is for, and why it is so important. it will include a tribute to baby logan gomes who was stillborn after his parents marcio and andreia gomes managed to escape from the 21st floor. logan was delivered while his mother lay unconscious in an induced coma. also the story of mother and daughter mary mendy and khadija saye who lived on the 20th floor and who were inseparable.

72 people died after flames engulfed the block of flats in west london lastjune. today's proceedings will open with a statement from sir martin moore—bick, the retired judge who is chairing the investigation, and his lead counsel richard millett. then the tributes will begin — they're expected to last about two weeks. after that the inquiry will then begin taking evidence. on the 4th ofjune the lawyers at the inquiry will start the opening statements from the 18th ofjune evidence will begin on how the fire broke out. the inquiry will hear the accounts of firefighters for four weeks starting on the 2nd ofjuly, and a month of hearings involving the bereaved, survivors, residents and witnesses begins in september. our news correspondent tom burridge is following the inquiry, and joins us now where the inquiry is taking place in central london. thejudge overseeing the judge overseeing this has put it this way, this is about finding the truth, and the barristerfor some this way, this is about finding the truth, and the barrister for some of the families has said it has been a long time for some of these people

to have their voices heard. it has been a long time coming, there have been a long time coming, there have been to one of a phase is to get to this points to work out exactly what the enquiry should look at. but now i think we are entering a poignant moment for the victims and the relatives of the victims killed in the fire. there will be two weeks, so we the fire. there will be two weeks, so we will have two weeks set aside for all of the 72 people whose deaths are linked to the fire, 71 people killed by the fire, and another woman whose death is treated to the fire potentially, and their relatives essentially over the next couple of weeks have the opportunity. not all of them we understand will take that opportunity, but a lot of them will. they have either recorded a video, and that video will be plate to the enquiry, or they will read a statement and present photos and pay homage to the people who were killed. as you say, it is important to them over the coming months and yea rs of to them over the coming months and years of this inquiry, when it gets bogged down in technical detail

about what caused the fire how the fire spread so quickly, and the refurbishment of the social housing block in the lead up to the fire, when it inevitably gets bogged down in the technical detail, it should a lwa ys in the technical detail, it should always remain focused on the people whose lives were tragically cut short on that day. the judge has also said this is not about punishing anyone getting compensation. how do the survivors and the families see it? parallel to this as a police enquiry, by the metropolitan police, so it is considering its own evidence. some of the evidence might also be seen at the public inquiry, but police inquiry is considering ringing charges of corporate manslaughter. because of the fire. the public inquiry‘s unit will be, after these two weeks of tribute are done, then

the inquiry will establish what happened on that night. —— the public inquiry‘s remit. then it will look at what caused the fire and what caused it to spend so quickly —— spread so quickly, and issues that led to that such is the management of the block by chelsea in kensington borough council. so there will be lots of limitations. the scope of the inquiry is probably not as wide as many relatives would have liked. they would have liked it to look at economic and political issues, a lot of which will not be covered by the inquiry. so i think we will hear some powerful tributes from the loved ones of those killed in the first two weeks, and it is to try to win the confidence of the relatives, to ensure them —— ashour thenit relatives, to ensure them —— ashour then it will be done in the name of those people killed. because there has been mistrust and criticism of the public inquiry even in the run—up to to today. the public inquiry even in the run-up to to today. tell us a bit

more about that mistrust and how it has been built up over what is now nearly a year since the fire. has been built up over what is now nearly a year since the firelj remember being there on that morning in north kensington. there was already mistrust throughout that stay about the number of pupils killed, —— people killed, and over the coming weeks and months, there was mistrust about whether the authorities would really take those people responsible for the fire to task properly. of course, the police inquiry runs parallel, that is doing its ownjob, but again, that inquiry runs parallel, that is doing its own job, but again, that will be atan its own job, but again, that will be at an process, and there is frustration, and in patients inevitably on the half of those people who have lost loved ones. they want answers as quickly as possible, and this public inquiry is winter allowance —— is going to last a long time, too. the inquiry leads to retain the confidence not only of the relatives but the waiter committee in kensington around g re nfell tower. committee in kensington around grenfell tower. we can all agree is

a tragedy that none of us believed was possible in our capital city in 2017. we never thought we would see a fire of this nature and that number of people trapped in a high—rise building and a fire spreading so quickly. so it will be difficult for the public inquiry to remain with the trust of the relatives and the local community around grenfell tower, but it is doing what it can. for example, there has been the concession made to the relatives and their supporters that there will be a panel sitting alongside the former high courtjudge, panel sitting alongside the former high court judge, sir martin moore—bick, who is leading this inquiry, a panel of more diverse people, people who represent the community. because if you look at the names of those people who died, we are talking about people from a range of nationalities, religions, cultural backgrounds, and it is important for the relatives of those people who were killed but that is reflected throughout in this public inquiry. and what is the situation 110w inquiry. and what is the situation now for all of those who lost so

horrendously in that fire, and afterwa rds's horrendously in that fire, and afterwards's are they all settled in new permanent homes? they are not, which is one of the issues that has been running parallel to the public inquiry. the police investigation is getting there. but i think the public inquiry is beginning now, so we can go to that now. the fire was the single greatest tragedy to befall this city since the end of the second world war. the site of the second world war. the site of the building engulfed in flames is indelibly printed on the memories of those who experienced an event of unimaginable horror. —— the sight. to experience it even second—hand in the form of photographs or video recordings is truly shocking. when we die, we live on in the memories of those who knew and loved us. it is fitting therefore that the opening hearings of the inquiry at

which evidence will be taken should be dedicated to the memory of those who died. they will be remembered through the words and pictures chosen by the people who knew them best, and loved them most. their families and friends. they will share with us their memories of those who they have lost. during the coming days, there will be much sorrow, coming days, there will be much soi’i’ow, soi’i’ow coming days, there will be much sofi’ow, soi’i’ow at coming days, there will be much sorrow, sorrow at the memory of lives cut short, and sorrow at the contemplation of promise unfulfilled. sorrow at the loss of close relations, and sorrow at the absence of friends and neighbours. but that sorrow will, i hope, be tempered by memories of past happiness, of time spent together, and of former joys. happiness, of time spent together, and of formerjoys. and above all, thanksgiving for those who buy their

lives, in which the lives of those with whom they lived and among whom they moved. although what we shall hear over the coming days may be described as memorials, they are in truth much more than that. they are an integral part of the evidence before the inquiry. they will remind us before the inquiry. they will remind us of its fundamental purpose, and the reason why it is so important that the truth be laid bare. only by achieving that goal can we ensure justice for the living, and a lasting tribute to the dead. at the end of these hearings, the names of all those who we are commemorating will be read out. but now, as was done at westminster a week ago, i invite you to stand for 72 seconds' silence as a mark of respect to those who died. thank you very much. i now invite

richard millett, counsel to the inquiry, to mix opening remarks. —— make some opening remarks. mrchairman, mr chairman, grenfell tower is a 2k story residential tower block, including its roof plant floor, which stands in the lancashire west estate in north kensington, london w11. it was completed in 1974, and

is owned by the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. for 43 yea rs, kensington and chelsea. for 43 years, it provided homes for thousands of londoners in its 120, which are 129, flats, six flats per floor. —— later 129. which are 129, flats, six flats per floor. —— later129. between which are 129, flats, six flats per floor. —— later 129. between 2014 and 2016, grenfell tower underwent a substantial refurbishment programme. the principal element of which was the construction... we have unfortunately lost the sound, but we will try to resolve the technical issue. i think it is back, so we will start listening again. within minutes thereafter,

the fire had broken out of the flat and into the cladding in which the building had recently been wrapped. by building had recently been wrapped. by1.29am, the building had recently been wrapped. by 1.29am, the flames on the exterior had reached the top of 423 on the east elevation. by 2.51am, all four elevations of the building had become involved in the fire. the last surviving resident skip to the tower... at 19.55 the same day, the then incident commander declared there was no longer any saleable life in the building. —— saveable. the fire at grenfell tower claimed the lives of 71, women and men and children last night, and a further

life on the 29th of january 2018. it was the largest fire related loss of life in the united kingdom since the disaster ofjuly 19 88. it was also, as the chairman said, the worst loss of life due to fire in a domestic premises since the second world war. on the 15th ofjune 2017, the prime minister announced a public inquiry into the causes of and circumstances surrounding the fire. and on the 29th ofjune, she appointed the chairman as chairman. now, after many months of evidence gathering, assembly, and analysis, the inquiry begins the hearings of this, phase one, of its work. these phase one hearings are a search for the truth about the building and its make up, about the physics of the

fire caused an spread, the systems in place or not in place for dealing with a fire of this kind, about what we re with a fire of this kind, about what were the actions and the decisions of the london fire brigade and the other emergency services on the night, and about the human experience of those who escaped and in some cases, of those who did not. phase two will examine all the other issues, including who took the decisions that led to the building being as it was, and why, as well as an assessment of the firefighting and fire at survival guide and strategies. —— guidance strategist. but grenfell tower is not a lawyer's argument or a scientist's experiment. grenfell tower was not a public space used by countless, faceless crowds. grenfell was home.

it's flats were private, and supposedly safe, spaces, where individuals could live their lives, cook dinners, do their homework, feed their dogs, host their friends and families, pursued their work in nor come home from work too. it was a human space for human lives, each unique. that is what the home is. and for many who lived there, g re nfell and for many who lived there, grenfell was not only a home, but a place of refuge. many of grenfell tower's residents had made grenfell in their home because they had chosen to live in london, attracted here by its vibrancy, work and career prospects, and it's ready to shoot for tolerance. some had done so shoot for tolerance. some had done so because the countries of their birth had become intolerable places to live. —— reputation for tolerance. and beyond that, grenfell

was not only a home and a place of refuge, it was a joined up community whose members work, played, prayed and lived together. and who stood often together as a single voice demanding justice and dignity. and many of them died together. the search for the truth is always hard and painstaking. that is because the truth is not usually one big thing. it comprises many tiny fragments. in oui’ it comprises many tiny fragments. in our search, using the tools and evidence and science at our disposal, we'll risk losing sight of why we are doing it and the people we are doing it for. so it is only right that this inquiry starts not what the study of combustible materials, fire spread and the building regulations, that'll come $0011 building regulations, that'll come soon enough, but with the individual human voices and faces of this

tragedy. today and in the days that follow, you will hear from the families and friends who have lost their loved ones in the flames at g re nfell tower, their loved ones in the flames at grenfell tower, and to whose memory oui’ grenfell tower, and to whose memory our search for the truth is dedicated. they believed have chosen to commemorate their loved ones in different ways, some by speaking to you directly, some through the legal representatives, and some by presenting a film or montage of photographs. as my and julie wrote, there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. —— maya angelou. we hope that these days of commemorations of grenfell‘s lost loved ones will enable their stories to be told and the agony of those who bear them to be lessened by telling them. but there are some for whom the weight of grief is simply too great to bear, and who

have chosen to grieve privately or in silence. for them, the inquiry is not to provide a voice with which to name their loved ones. so may we remember the tory king, flat 172. so may remember alexander, flat 172. —— victoria king. so maybe remember marco, flat 202. so may we remember ibrahim, flat so may we remember.

and so may we remember sheila flat 132. i will now ask bernard richmond to invite the first of the families to invite the first of the families to come here to the table to speak. thank you. good morning. can i explain how things will proceed's because they will vary. some people will choose to speak from the lectern and some from the table. families and loved ones mayjoin them either on the stage or in some circumstances, at the chairs on the floor. for each person, there will bea floor. for each person, there will be a slightly different arrangement, and so between each of the commemorations, i will ask if we may

please have a pause while that is done, if they are to be lengthy preparations, will ask for a break so preparations, will ask for a break so that people can stretch their legs. the first of our commemorations is a commemoration to logan gomes, and i would invite his family and solicitor to join us logan gomes, and i would invite his family and solicitor tojoin us on the stage. thank you. it isa it is a very big win, but you forgot

the microphone that help you. take yourtime, the microphone that help you. take your time, absolutely no rush. —— very big room. i know because we have met that you are marcio gomes, logan's father, and i wonder if you would like to introduce the group with you this morning. absolutely. excuse my voice, i've got a cold at the moment. i hope you can all hear me. on my right, my wife, andrea, and my friend and lawyer, martin. and also my friend and lawyer dipthi, and our friend and also my friend and lawyer dipthi, and ourfriend unit, and david behind me, also part of the lawyer group. you are all very welcome, and thank you for all you have done to prepare this. marcio, we are going to do this today by

effectively having a chat and you are going to tell the rest of us about what you have prepared. perhaps you would like to tell us first of all what we're at now. we are seeing it on the screen behind you. what are we looking at? twinkle twinkle little star, do you know how loved you are? this was on my son's nursery wall, and it was our way of showing how much we loved our son, logan, even though he wasn't born at that time, everything was ready for his arrival. you had been working quite hard, ithink. iworked extremely hard to make that nursery what it was. as you probably know, we lived on the 21st floor. i live with my wife andrea and our two daughters. on that night, we managed

to escape the horrific fire at around four in the morning. to escape the horrific fire at around four in the morninglj to escape the horrific fire at around four in the morning. i think you would just like to pause, because we would like any publicity to be very careful if possible not to be very careful if possible not to name children, to keep their privacy, and i think that is the same with your two children. absolutely. that same evening, when i found out that we had absolutely. that same evening, when ifound out that we had lost absolutely. that same evening, when i found out that we had lost our son, logan, in the hospital that was the time i had to do it on my own, because our daughters and my wife we re because our daughters and my wife were all in comas. take your time, no rush. but all three are ok now.

physically 0k. they are all physically ok, and we are trying to move forward. so we are going to look at another slide now. you are in control, not me, which is good. this was our little star, logan gomes. his two due date was on the 2ist gomes. his two due date was on the 21st of august, but instead he was born on the 14th ofjune. that evening, i was fortunate enough to hold my son. just pause a minute, because some people just need to ta ke because some people just need to take a seat.

soi so i held my son in my arms that evening. hoping it was all a bad dream, wishing, praying forany evening. hoping it was all a bad dream, wishing, praying for any kind of miracle. that he would just open his eyes. move, make a sound. but as we know, that didn't happen. asa as a family, we went to an adventurous, even though he wasn't

here, we did the gruffalo search we went searching. we found him, but firstly we found his friends, the fox and the owl. already, we have so much planned for him in terms of adventurous, and what we would do together. the girls were already planning on which football team he was going to support. which team was that? the argument went to watch my side, i think. that? the argument went to watch my side, ithink. he that? the argument went to watch my side, i think. he was going to support benfica from portugal and liverpool from the uk. i think i got away with that one. but in all fairness, they did agree to compromise on that, and that was that they would go to disneyland the summer that they would go to disneyland the summer after, which we would have been going this summer. should

everything have been all right. happiness, everyone was so happy and that logan was going to be born. nobody more so than my wife, andrea, as you can see from the photos. she was just as you can see from the photos. she wasjust going as you can see from the photos. she was just going with happiness. as you can see from the photos. she wasjust going with happiness. —— glowing. the pregnancy suited her, and ourfriends glowing. the pregnancy suited her, and our friends and family were all very happy that logan was being born. we cried during the reveal party that we had when i found out it was a boy. maybe i've become a

bit of a crybaby nowadays, but we all cried at that moment. the girls we re all cried at that moment. the girls were really happy. and during the party, the baby shower, many friends we re party, the baby shower, many friends were there and many presents, and it was all happy memories for us. he would be playing games with me as my partner. mildest m ild est loved mildest loved his nursery and the way it was decorated so much so that she wanted to swap, she wanted to sleep there. but obviously we

couldn't allow that. they were extremely happy with what was coming, so happy they didn't care about not having summer holidays because normally that is important for them to go away and be on a beach somewhere but they didn't care. they said we will put it off, it's not a problem. he might not here be physically, but he will a lwa ys here be physically, but he will always be here in our hearts. and that will be for ever. you know, i know he's here with god right next to me, giving the strength and courage to take this forward. this is our beautiful sleeping baby.

that was absolutely beautiful, thank you very much. he was so peaceful, so restful. he looked like he was just sleeping. as babies do. at the moment... we felt like our hearts had broken. at least we were able to

hold him. and to be with him. our sleeping angel, he was. we let him go with the doves so they can

fly high. friends want all —— a friend once told us god gives his ha rd est battles to his strongest soldiers. he is always going to be a part of our lives. you never know what you are made of until you are broken. and i can tell you this, my wife,

she's made of the hardest material know. and without her strength and courage, i would know. and without her strength and courage, iwould not know. and without her strength and courage, i would not be here. imight be i might be doing the talking but she is the one who's always rock solid. and we love our son and always will do. that's very very clear from what you have been saying. thank you for coming and telling us. i think we will take a few moments, if we make,

just to think about what we have heard and those who remember logan to remember him. thank you very much, that was very moving and must have been very difficult for you. i'm very grateful you came here to tell us about logan, thank you. just ta ke tell us about logan, thank you. just take a moment or two. there's going to be a five—minute ra ke there's going to be a five—minute rake while we change around so people may want to stretch their legs if they make, but i will be rearranging things for the next five minutes and then we will hear the commemoration for denis murphy.“ minutes and then we will hear the commemoration for denis murphy. if i rise for five minutes will that be most convenient? thank you.

that is the grenfell tower inquiry just opened, overseen by sir martin moore—bick. they were moving words, their son was stillborn in the aftermath of the fire. he spoke of the impact on the family, his family have two other daughters and he was describing how his family were so much looking forward to the arrival of his son logan. obviously the terrible sadness they have enjoyed. he said his wife was in a coma in the immediate aftermath of the fire but they are all physically ok now. if you want to find out more about the wren fouled our inquiry, --

if you want to find out more about the wren fouled our inquiry, —— the g re nfell tower the wren fouled our inquiry, —— the grenfell tower inquiry, there is a podcast which you can download, and we will be back to the inquiry in five minutes or so when it resumes. the inquiry is beginning with hearing from those who have survived and their families. not everybody wa nts to and their families. not everybody wants to speak but it is important the inquiry chair has said for this inquiry to be absolutely rooted in the people who have been so affected by the fire. so we will shortly be hearing from anne marie murphy, the sister of denis murphy who died in the fire. we will just the fire. we willjust move on briefly to some other stories the —— in the headlines today. national security is being put at risk because the uk is turning a "blind eye" to russian corruption, according

to a group of mps. the commons foreign affairs committee said the city of london was being used to hide the "corrupt assets" of russia's president vladimir putin and his allies, despite the recent nerve agent attack in salisbury. security minister ben wallace said the uk was determined to drive out "dirty money". rail disruption is continuing for a second day following a major overhaul of train timetables. services on northern rail, southern, thameslink, great northern and gatwick express are all affected. govia thameslink was forced to apologise to passengers for cancellations and delays yesterday, as jane—frances kelly reports. the biggest ever change to british railway timetables came into effect over the weekend. but train companies faced their first real test today as commuters returned to work. four million services across britain have been rescheduled, affecting thousands of passengers. arrival and departure times for all trains run by southern, thameslink, great northern and gatwick express have changed. yesterday, the new timetable hit the buffers almost straight away when dozens

of services were cancelled. all of the new trains that are running through brighton, horsham, are cancelled. the aim is to make trains more frequent and reliable. but passengers in some commuter towns are unconvinced. emily lives in harpenden. the train she normally catches no longer runs. for the next few weeks i have had to arrange for extra childcare. it is alrady a tight squeeze to drop off my kids at school, dash to the station, get into london. i cannot take the risk of whether i can get on a train. it is notjust about the extra cost of childcare but letting my children down. as a working mum, working five days a week in london, my time with my kids is really precious. the industry says there will be short—term disruption for the long—term benefit. this is one of the busiest railway networks in the world, and we are having to try to change timetables in order to accommodate where there are more passengers, at the moment where there are bottlenecks.

that will involve some winners and losers, and also some teething problems as this system is bedded in. rail unions and commuter groups are predicting some services could get worse before they get better. jane francis kelly, bbc news. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british—iranian woman who's being held in prison in iran, has been charged with spreading propaganda according to her husband. he is leading a campaign to get her name cleared. ms zaghari—ratcliffe was detained more than two years ago by the iranian authorities. she appeared in court over the weekend, and was reportedly told she would face new charges, and should expect to be convicted. her husband has told the bbc she is innocent. people suing the makers of a metal hip implant which they say left them in pain and with permanent damage, have lost their case at the high court.

the pinnacle implants were used in 20,000 patients in the uk between 2002 and 2013 before being withdrawn. the court ruled that the implants' manufacturer, depuy, was not liable. it's being reported that the owner of chelsea football club roman abramovich is facing delays in renewing his uk visa. the russian billionaire did not attend his team's fa cup final victory over manchester united at wembley on saturday. mr abramovich's office said it did not discuss personal matters while the home office would not comment on individual cases. hawaii's erupting volcano is posing a new threat to local residents as lava mixing with sea water creates a mix of toxic gases, known as laze. one person has been seriously injured by lava which was thrown into the air, and residents near mount kilauea

are being advised to move to safety. the lava has also blocked part of a coastal road, cutting off a key escape route for residents. the lava blocked the highway in the middle of the night and has continued on several more yards towards the ocean, and it is pouring into the ocean, making a steam cloud that you can see being produced a little over to our left. we are about 12 miles from the lava flow and ina about 12 miles from the lava flow and in a small village, and i am in and in a small village, and i am in a cottage my sister owns. we have been going back and forth to our property. we had access from a lower road for the past two weeks, about every other day, to retrieve some of our possessions and documents, and on this past friday we have gone in around one o'clock and there was a

lava flow about half a mile above our orchard. and then we went back to our home and started packing up some more things. we then proceeded to leave at around 3pm, and about an hour after that the track we have just used was cut off by a fast—moving lava just used was cut off by a fast— moving lava flow just used was cut off by a fast—moving lava flow and so our farm is now cut off although it has been spared, and we have seven other orchards altogether in that area so it seems our homes and property are safe at this time, but we have no access there and it could be months before we can get back into the property. larry morris there, who's macadamia nut form has been completely surrounded by lava. professor mike burton is a volcanologist at the university of manchester can give us more

details about why this is happening. these fractures are opening up and one in particular has been very active with a high lava flow rate. when it is fast enough it can create its own tunnel, then the lava can stay hot for longer. this activity has been going on for about 35 yea rs, has been going on for about 35 years, this fracture area to the east of the summit of kilauea has been active for 35 years, continuously producing lava flows which have reached the sea in the past. it comes out fast in the beginning because it is hot and you can get up to ten metres per second or more though it is moving very quickly but then it slows down swiftly. as it cools, crystals form

and it loses gas which makes it sticky and slows the process down so you end up at the end with this blocky lava flow. it's more about destroying buildings than hurting people. it is quite rare people are hurt by a lava flow itself. nicolas maduro has won a second term as president in the venezuelan elections. officials said he secured five point eight million votes, four million more than his nearest rival, henri falcon. opposition parties claim the result isn't valid. despite having the world's largest oil reserves, venezuela is in the midst of a severe economic crisis. from caracas, katy watson reports. mr maduro came out victorious, not that anyone expected otherwise. gracias! he thanked his followers for giving him another six years in power, calling it a historic day. his victory was so predictable that even before the results were announced, his rivals admitted defeat. translation: we don't recognise this electoral

process as valid, as having happened. for us, there were no elections. new elections in venezuela need to take place. across the country on sunday, many voting centres were eerily quiet. hugo chavez, the man who started the socialist revolution that maduro is determined to continue, looked on. you wonder what he would make of the country venezuela has become. this part of town is traditionally very pro—government. it is where hugo chavez used to vote with thousands of people coming to support him. the queues would be all the way down the street. this year, though, feels very different. even so, nicolas maduro had his supporters. translation: mr maduro has guaranteed social protection for us. i am voting in defence of my country, and neither spain or the united states, have anything to do with our internal affairs. we are going to leave that report to

return to the grenfell tower inquiry. this is dennis's ex—wife who remained his lifelong friend, this is my brother, tim, dennis's brother. thank you for coming, i think you are going to read a statement for us, is that correct? yes. take your time and pause as and when you we need to. yes. take your time and pause as and when you we need tolj yes. take your time and pause as and when you we need to. i am anne marie murphy speaking on behalf of the murphy speaking on behalf of the murphy family to say as follows. dennis was born in 1960 on the 10th of october in hammersmith. mum says he was born with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face and he ke pt eye and a smile on his face and he kept this trademark throughout his life. dennis was the proud son of an

murphy and the eldest of for children. he has two brothers, mick and tim, and i'm his sister, anne. he spent his early years living in north kensington until he was 1968, the family moved to dorking in surrey until 1971, when the family moved again to gravesend kent. we attended a catholic primary and secondary school and dennis excelled in the subjects history and maths. he also participated in other activities such as the school choir, being an altar boy and joining the sea cadets. there was one of the passion throughout dennis's your life which was to override everything else and that was his love of sports, especially football in which he became a skilled player. cross—country running and distance running. he ran forthe

cross—country running and distance running. he ran for the school and district in 1500 metre races and we nt district in 1500 metre races and went on to win many medals and trophies for his sporting achievements. my brother make often tells the story of when he lost his bus fare and dennis put mick on the bus fare and dennis put mick on the bus with his bus fare and ben brown home after the bus —— then ran home after the bus which was six miles, at that time he was ten years old. as dennis's father did not feature in our lives from an early age, dennis carried out the role of the dam to us. he had a strong set of principles and values which he instilled in us, his siblings to follow also. these included to have manners, to show respect to others, to help and care for others and to

love each other. in fact he taught and nurtured us to grow into the adults we are today. when dennis left school in 1977, the family moved back to west london and lived just off portobello road where mum still lives to this day. dennis went on to take up the trade in painting and decorating and worked hard until he was unable to do so due to health conditions. ennis continued to play foot ball conditions. ennis continued to play football into his adult life and we nt football into his adult life and went for trials for charlton athletic and crystal palace. he didn't make the grade in professional football but continued to play football for sunday league teams until his 305 when a to play football for sunday league team5 until his 305 when a cartilage injury forced him to give it up. dennis had such a caring nature and thi5 dennis had such a caring nature and this was evident in his voluntary work he used to do with adults with learning disabilities, supporting them to access activities in the

community and he got a real sense of achievement from doing this. when dennis was 22, he met his future wife tracey, and in 1984 they got a flat together in grenfell tower, and we nt flat together in grenfell tower, and went on to have a son together, peter. when peter was seven months old they moved to a house in mitch surrey, and when peter was four they moved to a house in tooting. dennis and tracey eventually divorced but stayed good friends and dennis decided to move back to north kensington to be near mum. he then got another flat in grenfell tower before 1997 and this was on the 11th floor which was later to become the 14th floor. dennis remained living there until his untimely and tragic death. dennis was a loving son,

father, brother, uncle, friend and our hero. he was the linchpin of our family and touched the lives of so many people. once you have met dennis, you would never forget his warmth, wit, cheeky smile and love of life. dennis had three biggest loves in his life. family, friends and chelsea football club, and not always in that order. dennis was at the heart of our family and his love for all of us was unconditional. this was as far—reaching as his aunts, uncles and cousins, great nieces, and great nephews. a great source of comfort to us as a family since dennis's death is hearing the

wonderful stories about him from people we have never met before, telling stories of how they knew dennis and the impact he had had on their lives. all of these stories are testament to the qualities he possessed. some of these were loyalty, caring, selflessness and his nonjudgemental approach to everyone he knew and met. the story we would like to share with you is a conversation we had with dennis at a family gathering where he told us he had become a member of unite, the bus union. we laughed and said to him, you can't be serious, you cannot drive a car let alone a bus. well he was serious as we were to find out after his death when we received a phone call and an e—mail from the union unite, sending their condolences and explaining why dennis had joined the union, the

reasons being that he wanted to be a pa rt of reasons being that he wanted to be a part of the campaign to make his voice and the voice of his community in grenfell tower voice and the voice of his community in gre nfell tower heard voice and the voice of his community in grenfell tower heard because we truly know that dennis loved his community. one of the proudest moments in dennis's adult life was when his son peter graduated from university. one of his not so proud moments was the day peter became a tottenham supporter, as dennis was a fanatical chelsea fan. him and peter had lots of light—hearted disagreements about their respective foot ball disagreements about their respective football clubs and dennis took great delight whenever chelsea beat tottenham. dennis had been going to chelsea games since he was a teenager and even travelled a number of times to europe to see them play. although dennis had health issues in his later years, this didn't hold

him back from his thirst for life and he spent his time helping out at and he spent his time helping out at a local boxing club, watching his beloved chelsea as well as other sports and visiting mum on a daily basis. mum would get great pleasure in these visits and the daily highlight for her was cooking him his dinner after she had given him a list of errands to do. asides from visiting and ringing mum daily, dennis also had a ritual of ringing his son peter, his brothers mick and tim and myself on a set day every week. we would have our chat with him and when the call came to a close, dennis would always end it with love you son, love you mum, love you, bruv, love you sis, and we would always say love you to him too. my brother tim was to receive

the last phone call he would have with dennis, informing him there was a fire in his block of flats, 6 re nfell tower. a fire in his block of flats, grenfell tower. tim a fire in his block of flats, gre nfell tower. tim never grenfell tower. tim never imagined this would be the last time he would get to speak to dennis. at 2:32am, peter and myself spoke to dennis and reassured him we were on our way to him, also never imagining we wouldn't ever get to see or speak to him again. other people always featured first and foremost in dennis's life and sometimes you have to look beyond the strength he showed to understand the worry and vulnerability beneath. when we look back at the life he lived and the challenges he overcame, we really can't think of a better role model to have heart. —— to have had. can't think of a better role model

to have heart. -- to have had. would you like some water? ever since dennis has been gone, there is a gaping hole in our hearts that can never be held and it hurts, it really hurts. we cannot imagine a day when it won't hurt any less. the pain, loss and sorrow we feel is indescribable and has left us devastated. we as a family feel strongly there is no reason in the world why anyone should have death forced upon them in such a horrific way, and the day dennis died a part of all of us died too. to us dennis was an inspiration and we feel lucky and blessed it was a part of our family. his warmth and love will stay with us for over and he has left behind in everlasting legacy. there are three things that nobody

can eradicate from our lives. one, the memories we hold of dennis so dear because he does not cease to be because he has become memories. two, the only possessions we have left of his now, which are recovered handful of coins so poignant to us as he would give you his last pennies if you ever needed them. and three, that we feel him walk beside us each and every day. to his family, he really was our hero, he is our hero and will always be our hero. thank you. we will now take a few moments just think about what we have heard and to allow those who knew denis to remember him quietly. a pause in the inquiry after hearing

from anne—marie murphy whose brother denis murphy died in the fire at g re nfell tower. denis murphy died in the fire at grenfell tower. he was one of four siblings, a father, a son, an uncle and a friend, and the linchpin of his family. she reflected on the sorrow at his passing and also the thanks that he lived, and that reflects the words that we had previously from the inquiry chair, chris said there is going to be much sorrow over the coming days as we hear from the survivors and relatives of the grenfell tower fire. but we will also hear thanksgiving as we are from those who remember those they knew. there we heard that denis murphy was their

hero, they cannot think of a better role model in the life, and they have found it comforting to know the impact he had on notjust their lives but those of many people they have only met since he died. our news correspondent tom burridgejoins us now from the inquiry in west london. a very moving start to the inquiry. yes indeed, and i think you have to be full of admiration both for anne—marie murphy who we just heard from, and from marcio gomes who we heard from before. the atmosphere in that room is heavy, a lot of tears in there. it is devastating to hear their stories, but at the same time, it is fundamental to this inquiry. the whole idea is to weeks when the loved ones, friends and family, of

those 71 people killed on that night last summer, and one woman who died earlier this year of health problems, possibly attributed to the fire. there have got two weeks to give statements as we have just heard themselves, or possibly their lawyers will do so on behalf of some of the families, we might also hear video messages which have already been recorded which will be played to the inquiry. the idea is not only to the inquiry. the idea is not only to pay tribute to those people killed, 2000 lot about them, and to tell us about the tragedy, the lights cut tragedy short. that also so that when the inquiry goes forward from today, and it will go forward from today, and it will go for a long time, we expect this inquiry to go into 2020. even when it gets into technical details about the fire and the materials used at g re nfell tower the fire and the materials used at grenfell tower and how much of a factor that was. even then, the idea

is that the people involved in the inquiry, everyone hearing evidence and the former high courtjudge sir martin moore—bick, and finally writing up a report at the end of the process, throughout that very long process, the victims will remain high and everyone's thoughts. the humanity of this hearing is coming through in a very gentle way. —— the gentle way these loved ones are being treated, exactly as they should be and as you would expect, but in the run—up to this, there was a great lack of trust between the survivors of the loved ones, and there are concerns about how this inquiry might potentially be held. how much has their input shaped the way this inquiry will be heard? a

huge amount. lawyers working on behalf of the families have been integral in shaping how the inquiry will be carried out and what it will consider. of course, they wanted it to have a broader remit than it ultimately will have, but remember there is a police inquiry running parallel to this, looking at potential charges of corporate manslaughter. i have covered these types of stories here in the uk and abroad, andi types of stories here in the uk and abroad, and i think it is fairly unprecedented that so much time at the beginning of an inquiry, and these type of enquiries held by public bodies, carried out by barristers and judges, can also seem very formal, and they will be. i think this inquiry further down the line will move more towards that traditional shape of a public inquiry, but i think it is fairly unprecedented that so much time at the beginning is being dedicated to not just rumbling the the beginning is being dedicated to

notjust rumbling the victims. there we re notjust rumbling the victims. there were 72 seconds of silence for the 72 people whose deaths were linked to the fire at the beginning this morning, and that was poignant, but if you listen back, and i think people should, throughout the course of today, particularly to marcio gomes who we heard from this morning, his son logan born in the aftermath of the fire —— stillborn. they have told us a lot about their families and the people lost. we now go back to the inquiry. before we start, please introduce who we have in front of us. hold on, please forgive me, i think there might be a problem. just checking whether we need microphones, buti problem. just checking whether we need microphones, but i think we are 0k. need microphones, but i think we are ok. i've got one here if we do. need microphones, but i think we are 0k. i've got one here if we do. we

have sabir's two magnitudes. in the middle, we have sabir's wife, flora. behind her, sabir's son, and at the end, sabir's brother. you are all very welcome. i think there are three commemorations to read, and perhaps you can tell us who we are going to hearfrom. perhaps you can tell us who we are going to hear from. the reason the family are sitting in front here is because flora has some mobility issues, and the family wants to be with her. can you please bring the microphone closer to you?”

interviewed some words on the behalf of sabir's brother. —— i'm going to read some words. sabir was not only my brother but my best friend. the only sibling i had here in the united kingdom. we did everything together when we were kids, and even until he died, with would always make decisions together. being so close engagement that as kids, we grew up lame, fighting and arguing. but more importantly, we grew up loving way and favouring each other over other siblings. the bond we had was unbreakable. a bond like no other. we shared our times of trouble in sickness and hardship, but most importantly, we shared our happiness. our kids grew up together, and they are like brother

and sister, the relationship that we had, andl and sister, the relationship that we had, and i stillam proud and sister, the relationship that we had, and i still am proud of. losing sabir was like my world came crashing down. i had faced many blows in the life, losing many family members, but this was the worst. the way in which the fire happened, his death, and the sudden severity of it all left me with so many questions. and a big void in my life, which i have not still comes to terms with. we spoke many times a week, but on this particular day, of all days, we did not speak. not knowing, we didn't know what was meant to happen later that night. —— what was going to happen. it was ramadan, and we broke our fast as a family, something that sabir had done that night, too. we went to bed

not knowing what was about to happen. i was oblivious to everything going on that night. i switched my fallen to airplane mode simon not be disturbed. —— phone. it was roughly at sabir in the morning when a call came through from my daughter to her mother, when she told us what was happening. sabir's son was repeatedly saying, our flat is on fire and i cannot find my dad. sabir was nowhere to be seen. a5 is on fire and i cannot find my dad. sabir was nowhere to be seen. as he struggled to breathe, and is all being so shocked and confused as to what was going on, my son—in—law brought his car around and we immediately set off from the leads

towards london. to try and find my brother. —— from leeds. after a drive that seemed never—ending, we arrived in london and went straight to the chelsea and westminster hospital. trying to comfort sabir's son and looking at the condition he was on, i did not know how to handle my emotions. what was i to do? did i stay with him and comfort him, did i go and look for sabir was still missing? pretty soon, the search began. within an hour or so, all family members were surrounding us, and everyone we knew was out searching for sabir. searching hospitals, the fire site, community centres, churches, mosques, anywhere where we might have found him, where he might have been. all in the hope

that we would find him, find my brother. hours went by, days went by, we never lost hope, always hoping and praying he was unconscious in the hospital or lost hope. he was alive. we never lost hope. flora was in a bad way, unconscious and very ill. we had to be there when neither his mum nor his dad could be around to help him. i was always by his side, all through his hospital stay. i see my brother in him. and this gave me an immense amount of comfort and calm in what was a horrific situation. it was after he was discharged and days

we nt after he was discharged and days went by the police asked us for dna. this was when the fear kicked in, the uncertainty and the heartbreak that maybe we were not going to see or hear from sabir again. maybe we had actually lost. pretty soon after, our worst fears was confirmed, and my brother is now a victim of the grenfell tower fire. he was taken away from me in such a way that left a hole in my heart, a void that can never be filled. i spent the next few weeks in london making the funeral arrangements. now we are almost at the one—year

anniversary of the fire. there are still so many unanswered questions. the only thing i know is that my brother was a hero. the only thing i know is that my brotherwas a hero. he the only thing i know is that my brother was a hero. he gave up his life for his family and for others, he sacrificed themselves in that fire in orderto he sacrificed themselves in that fire in order to put others first. that isjust the brave and selfless person that he was. that is a memory of him that i will hold in my heart for as long as i live. i will ensure that i am there for his son and his wife. that is what he would have wanted more than anything else. he would have wanted for them to be happy and safe. even when he cannot be that to give them that. i hope we can get more answers from this

inquiry, and more importantly, justice for all those innocent people who also lost their lives in this fire, including my brother, saber. i think the second commemoration is going to be read by you. this is a statement on behalf of saber's son. my dad was a unique person. i spent nearly all my life before the fire with my family living on the top floor of grenfell tower at flat 205 on the 23rd floor. we are a very close and happy family. i grew up in a safe home full of love and full of laughter. my dad loved life, and love meeting

people. he would get along with almost everyone, no matter what age, colour, sex, all religion they were. he would treat everyone the way he wanted to be treated himself, with respect. and for this reason, he was loved by so many. he was a man of deep integrity and fairness. within the community of grenfell tower, my dad was well liked by neighbours and friends in the tower. and in the 18 years that he lived —— we lived in grenfell, there was never a bad word said about him. my dad came to the uk in 1998, with my mum and me, i was only about five years old, but i can rememberfrom

was only about five years old, but i can remember from the moment that he set foot in the uk, that he found themselves a job and work hard. until the day he passed away. he was the sort of person who would never complain about work, and would never ta ke complain about work, and would never take a day off for being sick. i always remember him saying to me that the day he stops working will be the day that he truly is sick. for the last ten to 15 years of his life, my dad worked as a chauffeur. he would always wake up in the morning, put on a smart suit, and go to work. that would dress smartly even on days that he didn't have a client booking. he loved dressing well, which was evident from his wardrobe. it was mainly filled with suits and large collections of ties in all colours and patterns. with

his smart dress code and his unique character, my father built a large customer portfolio for his own chauffeur business, which included many vips. in the many years we lived in grenfell tower, we got to know almost all the neighbours. from a young age, i remember my dad being friendly with all our neighbours, and he would say hello to all of them whenever they would pass each other. my dad would always encourage me from a young age to always greet our neighbours, as he believed that this was a way to show respect to them. it was thanks to this lesson from my dad that i became friends with so many people in the tower. a5 a teenager, i went to holland park secondary school in west london, and my dad took me to school most days

in his car. my dad always encouraged to do well, as well as i could, in my studies. he never put any pressure on me, but always took a kindly interest in all i was doing. dad would listen intently when i would explain to him what i was learning in school. he gave me all the support he could to help me make a success of my schooling. he also encouraged me and supported me in interests outside of school. i started to learn the skills of tae kwon do at a young age, and my dad would bring me to my classes and wait for me to finish. he was always watching me as i trained. i became good at the sport, i started competing in tae kwon do at around the age of eight at kensington leisure centre. my father encouraged

me in the sport, and never complained about the long distances he had to drive. he happily took me everywhere as i competed all over britain. at the age of 15, i made it into the british tae kwon do squad. i was selected to compete in the european championships in poland. a5 always, dad was by my side. he travelled with me to support me and look after me. we stayed together in the team hotel. through my father's encouragement, i achieved second down in tae kwon do, and i have won more than 25 medals in varying colours of gold, silver and bronze. —— second dan. in both international and national competitions. my dad worked hard to support me in the sport, to the extent that regardless of working a night shift, he would

not hesitate him coming home in the morning after that night shift, picking me up, and driving me to competitions dotted all around the country. i know that he was very proud of me and my achievements in tae kwon do. my father and i were a great team together. i felt so close to my dad. he was my best friend, and is the man i admire most. on one trip, we went to sweden. when i was competing in the viking cup, and this, too, is easily treasured moment. together, we visited many countries for the first time, and i felt completely supported and safe with my dad beside me. unfortunately, all the medals and all the photographs i had taken alongside dad at these international competitions were lost in the flames of 6 re nfell competitions were lost in the flames of gre nfell tower. competitions were lost in the flames

of grenfell tower. we also travelled asa family of grenfell tower. we also travelled as a family on many occasions to holland and germany, where my mother and father had brothers and sisters. i met my fiance and holland, and one month before the fire, my parents andl month before the fire, my parents and i were in holland preparing for my wedding. i can still hear my dad's advice to me, telling me that i should concentrate on raising deposit for a house, and that i was not to worry about the cost of the wedding, as he was happy to pay for it all. as a family, we celebrated my engagement to my fiance in december 2016, and my dad had told me how proud i was of me and my fiance. —— how proud he was. it causes me deep pain to think that my dad will not be there at my wedding. it hurts so much to think that he will not hold his future grandchildren in his arms as he had held and protected me. i graduated

from kingston university with the bsc and engineering injanuary 20 17th, and it was so clear from the smile on my father's face that he was very proud of my achievements. he had always emphasised the need for education, and my graduation with a degree in engineering was the icing on the cake. at the graduation ceremony, dad proceeded to buy all the official photographers'. graphs of me. even though i told them that it was unnecessary. he replied by saying, nonsense, son, you're on graduate once. —— only. my dad made sure the photos took pride of place in our home. they were all destroyed in the fire. i was fortunate enough to work alongside my dad in the business he had set up for high—end

children. he gave me the flexibility to be able to study and to earn money to support myself. —— high—end chauffering. he was always there to ta ke chauffering. he was always there to take the pressure off me when it got too much. he would happily take on work that had been allocated to me in order for me to concentrate on my exams which were happening at that time. dad always put the fast. —— put me first. he never thought of himself before my mum or me. my dad is the sort of person who would help anyone who needed help. he would always put others before himself, no matter who they were. if a person ask my dad for help of any kind, he would sometimes think four days of a way in which he could help that person. my dad was a calm and very kind man. ithink person. my dad was a calm and very kind man. i think if you ask anyone about my dad, you will find no one

who will say a bad word about him. i am sure they would all mention how he was always smiling and that he was always a pleasure to be around. he has left everyone was very happy memories, and dad will not only dearly be missed by us, his family, but he will also be missed by many other people because he touched their lives and had a positive impact on them. since my father's death, i have missed him so very much, every day. when i returned to work after the fire, i felt under a lot of pressure. i felt overwhelmed. i felt that i could not support my mum and that i could not deal with all the consequences of the fire. i could not continue to run his business. i was in a state of deep despair and shock. however,

business. i was in a state of deep despairand shock. however, one night, idreamt despairand shock. however, one night, i dreamt about my dad, and he came to me in my sleep. he told me in his calm voice, don't worry, son. lam behind in his calm voice, don't worry, son. i am behind you. thinking about my dad, and trying to do everything i can to be there for my mum, and to honour my dad's example, has given me the strength to carry on, even though it is so difficult. my dad staley loved, and he is sorely missed. —— is dearly loved. my dad will never be forgotten, and i know that he will always be behind us. applause there is one more statement to be

read. two things. i think we will just take a second or two to let eve ryo ne just take a second or two to let everyone gather themselves and find out if anyone needs some water. i think, martin, the other thing is, this third tribute is going to be followed by a recording which contains saber‘s voice. followed by a recording which contains saber's voice. that is correct, it will be followed by the la st correct, it will be followed by the last message that saber left his brother. are you ready? i'm reading this statement on the behalf of

flora neda, saber's wife, now a widow. for almost 20 years, we lived happily together on the top floor of 6 re nfell tower. happily together on the top floor of gre nfell tower. we lived happily together on the top floor of grenfell tower. we lived there with ourson, grenfell tower. we lived there with our son, farhad. we were both born in afghanistan, and grew up there. we met in kabul in 1989. i had finished my teaching degree and was teaching in a primary school in kabul. my colleague and best friend introduced saber to me, he was her brother—in—law. i was 26 years of age at the time, and saber was 28. he had just returned from what was formerly known as czechoslovakia after two years of training in the afg ha n after two years of training in the afghan army. when he returned to afghanistan, he was part of the training team for new recruits within the afghan army. he was a

high army officer. —— a high ranking army officer. it was love at first sight, which was at that time, difficult given that the traditions of afg ha n difficult given that the traditions of afghan society. my father did not ta ke of afghan society. my father did not take to saber immediately. it took my father two years to give his approval to our marriage. we were married in 1991 in kabul. we were together as husband and life for over 27 years. are one and only child, son, farhad, was born in kabul in march 19 83. and i remember how happy and how proud saber was that he was the father of a baby boy. it was forbidden at that time to have men at the birth of their children in afghanistan. i remember

holding our newborn son, farhad, up at the hospital window so that saber could see him from two floors below. i could see my husband's beaming smile when he saw us. the nurses at the hospital told me how proud he was of the moment, and saber being saber, he had given all the nurses money to celebrate the birth of our son. they were overjoyed. however, afghanistan was moving into dark times. we went from tyranny to the oppression of the caliban. on account of saber's position within the afghan army, we were told that he was being targeted, and that our lives as a family were in danger. at the same time, the school where i worked was closed down by the caliban, and the forbade any woman

from working. it was an oppressive time asa from working. it was an oppressive time as a dangerous time. —— taliban. we had to take the decision to flee from our country, and we sought refuge here in the united kingdom. a5 to the country known around the world for its respect for human rights. and for fairness. we arrived in the uk in 1998 and this country gave us detection, we we re this country gave us detection, we were recognised as a refugee family and very proud to become british citizens five years later. the majority of both saber's and my family and to flee afghanistan because of the persecution. our siblings have settled in the united states, in holland and in germany. given how close holland and germany is to hear, we spent many happy holidays as a family visiting all of

blondes those countries. saber was one of ten children under very close to his younger brother, who lives in the land who has been greatly affected by the loss of his beloved brother. saber always instilled the importance of education in our son, farhad. saber lead by example, attending english classes on our arrival in the uk and also enrolled in computer classes. he always tried to better himself. my husband was very ha rd to better himself. my husband was very hard working man and in the early years of being here was more than happy to do any work he could

find in orderto than happy to do any work he could find in order to support me and farhad. his work included cleaning, delivering pizzas and driving. he did some minicab driving force an employer and subsequently set up his own chauffeur business. he was extremely proud of his business and we we re extremely proud of his business and we were proud of him. saber run his own chauffeur in business for the la st own chauffeur in business for the last ten years of his life and was so pleased when our son farhad joined him in the family business. i was really happy seeing my husband and son going to work together and working alongside each other. he was known to all of its customers as being an honest and caring man, it was a reflection of his standing when so many of his customers came to his funeral. saber's funeral was

packed, there was literally no standing room available. his cousin in holland had posted a video in holland almost immediately after the fire asking if anyone had seen saber, which was a very difficult time for the family, following the fire. iwas time for the family, following the fire. i was in a coma and hospitalised. farhad was also in a coma and being treated in a different hospital. our wider family members did not know what happened to saberor if members did not know what happened to saber or if he was dead or alive. we received a call from someone who had been driven to the airport, and even though they had only been with saberin even though they had only been with saber ina even though they had only been with saber in a short period of time he knew he was a kind person and wanted to say that. saber have that kind of

effect on people, who was loved by family and friends, who was loved by his neighbours and customers alike. it was a much loved and very popular man. we were delighted when we were offered a flat at grenfell tower in 1999. we decorated our flat regularly and had many happy times in there together. we were a close community at grenfell tower and our door was always open to our neighbours. sadly we lost many friends and neighbours in the fire including two young girls on our floor to would regularly come into our flat to see us. they always came in to look at tropical fish tank which we had in our flat. looking

back at the most recent times, i would say the two proudest moments we re would say the two proudest moments were first being at the engagement party of our son farhad in 2017. saber was looking forward to the marriage of our sons to his lovely fiancee and of course he was looking forward to everything that was to lie ahead for our son and perhaps a future filled with grandchildren in our lives. some —— the second recent moment that made him proud was being our son's graduation. saber was so filled with pride over what farhad had achieved in his young life, and it is because of the support, love and fatherly direction which saber

gave to farhad that farhad was able to make these achievements. it is just so sad my beloved husband will not be with us at farhad's wedding, or share in the joy of becoming a grandparent. those hopes and our dreams have been shattered. the chance to enjoy such special moments asa chance to enjoy such special moments as a close, loving family have them taken as a close, loving family have them ta ken away from as a close, loving family have them taken away from saber, and there's a heavy sense of loss within our hearts which will never, ever go away. saber had always been there for all of us. he away. saber had always been there forall of us. he never complained and he always did everything with a smile. he was my husband, he was my

best friend. i miss him so much. he will always be the love of my life. thank you. applause. i think we are now going to hear that last recording. that concludes that particular part of the tribute. i see that it is 20 to one, i wouldn't want the next people to feel in anyway rushed, and i invite you perhaps to break until two o'clock. we will do that then, thank you very much indeed.

quite devastating there to hear the last words of mohamed, known as saber neda. his final words, "goodbye to all". described by his son is a calm and very kind man, a lwa ys son is a calm and very kind man, always smiling. described by his wife, as my husband, my best friend, the love of my life. those tribute read on behalf of the first three victims who we are hearing from on this first day of the inquiry. there will be many more, and the inquiry judge has said it is going to be a time for great sorrow remembering

life lost, potential not fulfilled but also remembering with thanks those who enriched the lives of those who enriched the lives of those with a new. —— who they knew. tom burridge is at the inquiry. ijust came out earlier from the room where the public inquiry is being held. there are a lot of tears inside. the atmosphere is heavy with grief. even though it is heavy with grief. even though it isa is heavy with grief. even though it is a year is heavy with grief. even though it isa yearon, is heavy with grief. even though it is a year on, the stories are going into great deal about the people who we re into great deal about the people who were killed that night, their background stories, family and they loved, the weddings they couldn't make it to in the future, this on which they never had. these are incredibly touching stories and it is really i thinkjust a moment to add my other relatives who have

either come here in person to read the statements in front of a packed room full of officials, lawyers, barristers and journalists, and also those other people whose statements are being read out on their behalf though it is two weeks we have set aside for this inquiry to start in the right tone and to start a hearing of the human loss, the tragedy, the stories behind the tragedy, the stories behind the tragedy that is grenfell tower, the fire in that tower, the public housing block in the summer of last year. housing block in the summer of last yea r. let's housing block in the summer of last year. let's hear from housing block in the summer of last year. let's hearfrom the man leading this inquiry, former high courtjudge sir martin leading this inquiry, former high court judge sir martin moore—bick. he set out why it was important that so much time is being set aside to hear the stories from the families of those people killed. during the coming days there will be much sorrow. sorrow at the memory of lives cut short and sorrow at the contemplation of promise unfulfilled. sorrow at the loss of

close relations and sorrow at the absence of friends and neighbours. but that sorrow will, i hope, be tempered by memories of past happiness, of time is spent together and of former joys. happiness, of time is spent together and of formerjoys. and above all by thanksgiving for those who, by their lives, enriched the lives of those with whom they lived and among whom they moved. although what we shall hear and see over the coming days may be described as memorials, they are in truth much more than that. they are an integral part of the evidence before the inquiry. they will remind us of its fundamental purpose and the reason why it is so important that the truth be laid bare. only by achieving that goal can we ensure justice for the living

and a lasting tribute to the dead. it is remarkable, tom, isn't it, to have these voices so much at the heart of this inquiry right at the beginning. i know the barristerfor some of the victims' families saying having their voices heard has been a long time coming for them. yes, it's highly unusual. yes, the tragedy at g re nfell tower highly unusual. yes, the tragedy at grenfell tower is remarkable in all of the worst senses of that word because of the number of victims but i think to have so much time at the beginning of a public inquiry dedicated to detailed accounts, not just of what happened that night to that person but really of their whole lives, of the joyful moments of their life, of their loved ones and relatives, for example from the family wejust and relatives, for example from the family we just heard from of mohamed neda, known as saber to his family, the fact he used to drive his son

around the country to tae kwon do matches even after finishing a night shift, that he was loyal and hard—working. afterfleeing shift, that he was loyal and ha rd—working. after fleeing the taliban in afghanistan where he was born and the pride he felt when he became a british citizen. these are the back stories of 72 individuals that we will hear over then coming weeks. it is important for the inquiry to be cast i think in the way as much as possible that the relatives of those people would have wanted. the remit of the inquiry generally speaking isn't as broad as a lot of the relatives wanted, they wa nted a lot of the relatives wanted, they wanted to look at economic, political and social factors. of course grenfell tower was a high—rise block of social housing, but i think this is important to set the tone and make sure when the inquiry gets very technical, and it will do, it will run possibly for two years going into technical details about the cause of the fire

and the materials used to refurbish the tower in the run—up to the fire, and how the flames were engulfing a large section of the tower. when it gets technical, the inquiry believes it still has to bear in mind the victims. let's hear from it still has to bear in mind the victims. let's hearfrom richard minute qc, the barrister working on behalf of the inquiry, and this is what he had to say earlier this morning. these phase one hearings are a search for the truth about the building and its make up, about the physics of the fire, cause and spread, the systems in place or not in place for dealing with a fire of this kind, about what were the actions and the decisions of the london fire brigade and the other emergency services on the night, and about the human experience of those who escaped and in some cases of

those who did not. please two will examine all the other issues including who took the decisions that led to the building being as it was and why, as well as an assessment of the firefighting and fire survival guidance strategies. but grenfell is not a lawyer's argument, grand felt —— grenfell tower was not a public space used by faceless crowds, gre nfell was hoping. its flights were private and supposedly safe spaces where individuals can live their lives, cook theirdinner is, individuals can live their lives, cook their dinner is, do their homework, feed their dogs, pursue their work homework, feed their dogs, pursue theirwork in or homework, feed their dogs, pursue their work in or come home from work to. it was a human space for human

lives, each unique. that is what a home is. so this is the beginning of a very long process. in the coming weeks, months, even years possibly, weeks, months, even years possibly, we will hear about hundreds of documents which have been considered already by the public inquiry and will be part of the evidence. hundreds of witnesses, for example more than 500 people, relatives of the dead, survivors and local residents who live in and around the tower will be part of the public inquiry. the first phase will run until november. in september we will hear evidence from the firefighters, weeks of evidence just from the firefighters who tackled the blaze on that night so it will be an incredibly long and complicated process. there is a police inquiry running parallel and possible charges of corporate manslaughter are being looked at, but this public inquiry will be looking to establish

the facts. what happened on that night and what caused the fire to spread so quickly through the building. also the levels of communication between the residents of g re nfell tower communication between the residents of grenfell tower and kensington and chelsea borough council which essentially managed to block. but so far today this has been a very moving and powerful testimony from some of the families of those people who were killed and we will have more throughout this afternoon here on bbc news. thank you, tom. and if you want to find out more about the g re nfell tower you want to find out more about the grenfell tower inquiry, a podcast will be looking in detail at what has been said and heard every day. rail disruption is continuing for a second day following a major overhaul of train timetables.

services on northern rail, southern, thameslink, great northern and gatwick express are all affected. govia thameslink was forced to apologise to passengers for cancellations and delays yesterday, as jane—frances kelly reports. the biggest ever change to british railway timetables came into effect over the weekend. but train companies faced their first real test today as commuters returned to work. four million services across britain have been rescheduled, affecting thousands of passengers. arrival and departure times for all trains run by southern, thameslink, great northern and gatwick express have changed. yesterday, the new timetable hit the buffers almost straightaway when dozens of services were cancelled. all of the new trains that are running through brighton, horsham, are cancelled. the aim is to make trains more frequent and reliable. but passengers in some commuter towns are unconvinced. emily lives in harpenden. the train she normally catches no longer runs. for the next few weeks i have had

to arrange for extra childcare. it is already a tight squeeze to drop off my kids at school, dash to the station, get into london. i cannot take the risk of whether i can get on a train. it is notjust about the extra cost of childcare but letting my children down. as a working mum, working five days a week in london, my time with my kids is really precious. the industry says there will be short—term disruption for the long—term benefit. this is one of the busiest railway networks in the world, and we are having to try to change timetables in order to accommodate where there are more passengers, at the moment where there are bottlenecks. that will involve some winners and losers, and also some teething problems as this system is bedded in. rail unions and commuter groups are predicting some services could get worse before they get better. jane francis kelly, bbc news. hawaii's erupting volcano

is posing a new threat to local residents as lava mixing with sea water creates a mix of toxic gases, known as laze. one person has been seriously injured by lava which was thrown into the air, and residents near mount kilawea are being advised to move to safety. the lava has also blocked part of a coastal road, cutting off a key escape route for residents. it crossed the highway in the middle of the night, this is the result of that. it went down to the ocean and it is pouring into the ocean creating a steam cloud that you can see being produced little bit over to our left. we are about 12 miles from the slope, in the small village of pahoa, in a cottage that my sister owns.

we have been going back and forth to her property. we had access from a lower road for the past two weeks about every other day, to retrieve some of our possessions and our documents, and this past friday, we had gone in around one o'clock, and there was a lava flow about half a mile above our orchard. and then we went back to our home and started packing up some more things, and we then proceeded to leave around three o'clock, and about an hour after, the road we had just used was cut off by a huge, fast— moving lava flow. and so our farm is now cut off, although it has been spared. we have several other orchards altogether in that area. it seems that our home and properties are safe

at this time, but we have no access there, and it could be months before we can get back into the property. larry morris there, whose macadamia nut farm has been completely surrounded by lava. professor mike burton is a volcanologist at the university of manchester, can give us more details about why this is happening. fissures are opening up, these fractures over the last few days, and one of them in particular has been particularly very active, a very high lava flow rate. and that has been able to reach the sea by having a sort of tunnel. when it's fast enough, it can create its own tunnels. when the lava is hot enough, it can go long distances in the sea. but this activity has been going on for about 35 years.

this fractured area to the east of the summit, has been active for 35 years. it has been continuously producing lava flows that have also reached the sea in the past. what happens as it comes out very fast at the beginning because it is hot, then you can get up to ten metres per second, so it is moving very quickly. but then it slows down quite swiftly. as it cools, crystals form, and it loses some gas and that makes it much more sticky and slows the whole process down. so you end up at the end with this blocky lava flow, which is more about destroying buildings than hurting people. it is quite rare that people are actually hurt by a lava flow itself. let's get the weather forecast.

storm clouds have been gathering across parts of the south—east and as we go through the rest of the week, we will continue to see spells of warm sunshine but there is also the potential for some thunderstorms, particularly in the south. also caulfield close to north sea coasts. the stripe of cloud out west is bringing rain to parts of northern ireland and scotland, then these clouds have been gathering towards parts of the south—east and there is the risk of hit and miss thunderstorms as we go through the afternoon. not everyone will catch one of these but if you do, you know about it. generally speaking a lot of sunshine, temperatures into the low 20s, with mist and murk for north sea coasts. for nonviolent and the north west of scotland, a weather front bringing outbreaks of rain which is fairly heavy at times. as we go through this evening and overnight, much of the rain in the

north—west will fade away, keeping extra cloud here. further south some clear spells once thunderstorms die away, and temperatures holding up perhaps a little better than they have in recent nights. still the re m na nts of have in recent nights. still the remnants of this weather front up to the north—west as we go through tuesday, so a bit more cloud into parts of scotland and northern ireland. further south again plenty of sunshine but the continued threat of sunshine but the continued threat of some hit or miss showers and thunderstorms to take us into the afternoon, driven in part by the warmth, temperatures reaching 23 degrees but considerably cooler up to the north—west. the cloud breaking up on wednesday but still the potential for murky conditions for some north sea coasts, and a breeze as well keeping things on the cool side. elsewhere, where you can see the orange colours there is warmth to be had. again, there is

just the chance of some showers or thunderstorms. perhaps a more general showery rain to end the week but still feeling warm. almost one year on from the grenfell tower fire, the public inquiry opens into the distaster that killed 72 people with a chance for every bereaved family to tell their story. bereaved relatives remember the victims including a baby stillborn after his parents escaped the blaze. he looked like he was just sleeping, as babies do. you know, at that moment... ..we felt like our hearts had broken. a full report on the emotional and poignant tributes to the victims of the grenfell fire. also this lunchtime: big changes to train

timetables in the northwest and southeast of england cause more disruption this morning. a deadly new hazard for residents of hawaii dealing with a major volcanic eruption — lava reaching the sea sends up