his report on the first published his report on the first phase of that enquiry covering the events of the 14th ofjune. the cause of the fire and its rapid spread, the way in which emergency services and others handled the immediate response. as the sponsoring minister under the terms of the inquiries act 2005, i this morning lead copies before parliament of that report. i was in no doubt that the house should have the opportunity to debate it on the day of publication. grenfell was a national tragedy, and this is a report of great national importance. however, i recognise that sir martin has produced a very substantial piece of work, almost 1000 pages across four volumes, the vast majority of honourable and right honourable members will not yet have

had the opportunity, therefore, to digest it and analyse it in any great detail, and i believe that members do have an important role to play in scrutinising such reports and the government's response to them, so let me reassure the house that we will seek to schedule further debate on sir martin's findings at the earliest suitable opportunity so that members can debate the report in detail. this may be obviously after the election, but we will certainly ensure it will happen. but of course what happened in the hours that the fire raged is only half the story. phase two of the enquiry, which was not taking oral evidence early in the new year, we'll look at the wider context, and this will include the nature and application of building regulations,

the way in which local and central government responded to the fire, and the handling of concerns raised by tenet low over many years. phase one sets out what happened, phase two will explain why. —— raised by te na nts. two will explain why. —— raised by tenants. such a complex process will inevitably take time, longer than any of us would wish. as i said, we are rich with the people of grenfell tower to explain once and for all and beyond doubt exactly why the tragedy unfolded as it did. —— we await to the people. the standard set by this first report, i am confident that it is exactly what will happen. martin moore—bick‘s work is exhaustive in its detail, he provides an authoritative and often

harrowing minute by minute account of the fire at its terrifying spread. led always by the fact, his recommendations are clear and numerous. and where there are failings to be highlighted, martin moore—bick does so without fear or favour. nowhere is that clearer than in st martin's verdict on the sickle biggest cause of this tragedy. he leaves no doubt that the cladding on the exterior of grenfell tower was the exterior of grenfell tower was the defining factor in the rapid and all—consuming spread of the blaze. it was the cladding, the aluminium composite material, and the combustible insulation behind it, that ignited because of the fire in flight 16. that ignited because of the fire in flight16. it that ignited because of the fire in flight 16. it was the cladding that allow the flames to climb so rapidly up allow the flames to climb so rapidly up the outside of the tower, causing

compartment asian to fail. the cladding that turned into molten plastic, raining fire on the streets of north kensington and causing the blaze to go up and down the building as well. —— compartmentalised. it turned a kitchen fire into a disaster of unprecedented proportions, that cost 72 people they lies. martin moore—bick is clear that the cladding on grenfell tower was fitted in breach of building regulations. and why this was allowed to happen and who was responsible for it will be covered in phase two of his enquiry. i give way to the right honourable gentleman who i know was bereaved or suffered the loss of a friend in the grain fell fire. i am very grateful to the prime minister for giving

away at the manner in which he is making remarks this afternoon. —— g re nfell tower making remarks this afternoon. —— grenfell tower fire. it is still the case that there are men, women and children up and down the country, sleeping tonight in buildings with that cladding. and so many years after the tragedy, does he not think, in this sixth richest democracy in the world, we could not have done more to get radar for people's —— people sleeping in inferno is across our country? i am grateful to the honourable gentleman, and i was coming to that point in my expiration of what happened. all i point in my expiration of what happened. alll can point in my expiration of what happened. all i can say is that he is quite right and we cannot afford

to wait for the full conclusions of the report, that is why, as my right audible friend has pointed out, we have allocated a further £600 million to the removal of such cladding. i date is essential that we re m ove cladding. i date is essential that we remove similar cladding on all buildings as soon as possible. that is why we have established that fund, to pay for the removal of such cladding systems from tall residential buildings. i am pleased to say, i know that progress is not as fast as i would like, i am pleased to say that all of the such buildings owned by central and local government have now had their cladding removed. they are undergoing work to remove it or have such work schedule. in the

private—sector, progress is slower. too many building owners have not acted responsibly. while... iwill give way. i am grateful for him giving way on this particular point. perhaps you could inform the house what action will be taken against those private building owners who fail to remove or replace the cladding by the deadline. fail to remove or replace the cladding by the deadlinelj fail to remove or replace the cladding by the deadline. i am grateful to my honourable friend, he raises an important point. we are proposing to name the businesses and companies that own those buildings and are failing to comply in order to encourage them to get on with this vital work. because while people living in those privately owned buildings are safe, and the

house will know that around—the—clock fire patrols and other temporary measures ensure this is the case, i am in no doubt that they need a long—term and lasting solution. can i just they need a long—term and lasting solution. can ijust make some progress? nearly all private high residential buildings where such cladding remains are now allowed to have remedial work schedule. where thatis have remedial work schedule. where that is not the case the government will work with local authorities to ta ke will work with local authorities to take enforcement action if landlords refuse to deal with the problems themselves. i think the house would agree that they have had enough time, there are no more asus is. they must make those buildings save 01’ they must make those buildings save orface the they must make those buildings save or face the consequences. i they must make those buildings save orface the consequences. i happily give way. —— they are no more excuses. on that point, the select committee has done a lot of work on this issue and we have highlighted the need for speed in terms of the

removal. it is in the private sector where there are often disputes between the freeholder and the leaseholders who may be legally responsible but haven't got the wherewithal. i am pleased with what he has said, can he confirm that he will work with local authorities to actually go and do this work in default to make sure people in these properties are safe? yes, indeed. we are indeed going to be working, already are working with local authorities to enforce the requirements that they remove the cladding in question. although i think, like many members, feel that progress should be faster, i can assure him that we are hard at it to remove that cladding. can i turn now to the second, if i may, the other most important factor? the cladding

on grenfell tower caused the fire to spread out of control and behave in ways nobody had seen before. this unprecedented fire created an unprecedented fire created an unprecedented challenge for the men and women sent to fight it. mr speaker, since 2017 much has been written from many perspectives about the way in which the london fire brigade and old the unfolding disaster. let me be very clear from the start. i will give way. i thank him for his thoughtful delivery of this beach. i have seen the report this beach. i have seen the report this morning and i have seen the recommendations and i would like to ask the prime minister if he will give an undertaking today as to enable extra funding, adequate funding so those recommendations can be taken forward as a matter of haste, because that has been chewing a half years, too long, and we need the money specifically for them to

be taken forward quickly. the money specifically for them to be taken forward quicklylj the money specifically for them to be taken forward quickly. i am grateful as i can tell her i am coming to that matter. probably all the matters that ogle members wish to address a bit later in my remarks. the issue that i think the house will want to hear about now is the opinions of martin moore—bick about the way in which the london fire brigade handled that disaster, and after examining all the evidence and after examining all the evidence and listening to hundreds of witnesses and experts, martin moore—bick does not call into doubt the actions or bravery of any of the rank—and—file firefighters dispatched to grenfell tower. no one, any of us in this house, or the other players, should be in any doubt about that. as mayor of this great city of london, i saw for

myself the courage and commitment demonstrated by the men and women of the london fire brigade. as martin moore—bick‘s report based that out, telling firefighters exhibiting, and i quote, extraordinary courage and selfless devotion to duty as they push themselves too and even beyond the limits of endurance, facing choking smoke and temperatures as high as 1000 celsius. they outwork that night was nothing short of phenomenal. —— in their work. however, martin moore—bick concludes that the firefighters or duty that night were faced with the situation for which they had not been properly prepared. he finds that the london fire became's planning and training

for such an incident were greatly inadequate, and that on the night of the fire they were serious deficiencies, i quote, the fire they were serious deficiencies, iquote, in the fire they were serious deficiencies, i quote, in command and control. the report highlights a lack of coordination between emergency services, what martin moore—bick calls a serious failure as does night of stated policies. i think this will be the point that will be of most concern to those who lost loved ones. he finds that the failure to order an evacuation of the tower once the fire was clearly out of control most probably led to the deaths of individuals who could otherwise have been saved. if i may continue. i think it will be important for the house to hear the whole context in which these criticisms and points have been

made. the so—called stay put policy is the bedrock on which all plans forfighting is the bedrock on which all plans for fighting fires in tall residential buildings are based. building regulations are supposed to mean that fires cannot spread beyond individual flats, that they are complemented. when that is the case, it is indeed safest foremost residents to stay yet they homes until the fire is extinguished. but at grenfell tower, that was not the case. the fire spread both widely and rapidly up and down and across the tower. the enquiry found, perhaps if i could just continue... i think the house will get the whole picture that martin moore—bick wants to convey. by 1:30am,

picture that martin moore—bick wants to convey. by1:30am, it picture that martin moore—bick wants to convey. by 1:30am, it was clear that compartment asian had failed. —— compartment asian. it was later still not too late to order an evacuation will start yet according to martin moore—bick, senior officers simply could not conceive officers simply could not conceive ofa officers simply could not conceive of a situation where dividing into compartments could fail so comprehensively. in the report, stay put with such an article of faith in the fire service that senior officers were reluctant to let the reality before them override their training. and as a result, the decision to order an evacuation was not taken until 2:35am, by which time the terror‘s single staircase was already filling with impenetrable smoke. —— the

tower. by this time, confused and pure lines of communication meant that operators in the 999 control room were not aware that the advice had changed. swamped by the sheer volume of calls in dealing with a challenge outside their experience and training, some continued to give conflicting advice to people trapped inside the tower. sir martin notes that many operators did not realise how all—encompassing the fire had become until well after 5am, when a lull in calls allowed them to check their phones and see images of the burning building for the first time. information gleaned from callers inside the tiber was faithfully recorded, but only rarely made its

way to firefighters. i'm grateful to the prime minister and thank him for the prime minister and thank him for the tone and reflective manner he is delivering this, but could i point out that this isn't the first time that compartmentalisation had failed. injuly 2009, at a multistorey building, it suffered a similar tragedy, six people lost their lives, over 20 were seriously injured, and at that time subsequently, the coroner wrote to the minister, who was eric pickles at the time, putting forward a recommendation of a stay put policy being reviewed, and no action was taken. he is making a very important point, as the whole house knows, and that issue, as i said at the outset,

is among the issues that will be addressed in the second part of sir martin's report, and i will say a little bit about that a bit later on, but he is absolutely right to raise that issue. if i can perhaps make some progress. brave firefighters led many people to safety from inside the tower, so martin concludes that the chaos and confusion meant that some calls for help were not responded to until it was too late, i give way.|j help were not responded to until it was too late, i give way. i have visited grenfell tower twice to sympathise with the relatives, but i have also been able to see it first—hand how firefighters in these very complex risk their lives. i had a meeting only yesterday with the fire college in my constituency who provide worldwide training for every

type of fire officer. would he agree that we owe it to our firefighters up that we owe it to our firefighters up and down the country to have the very best training? i thank him, and iam very best training? i thank him, and i am well aware that he has a centre for the training of firefighters in his own constituency in moreton in marsh, and directly on his point, sirmartin marsh, and directly on his point, sir martin cautions all of us against making judgments at a distance. and i agree with him wholeheartedly, it is very easy for us on wholeheartedly, it is very easy for us on these green benches to have 2020 hindsight, and we are not about to run into the heart of a fire which is blazing more than 200 feet into the night sky. i give way. when he was mayor of london he presided

over a fire service cuts despite warnings from london mps over a fire service cuts despite warnings from london mp5 from across parties, and he didn't heed those warnings. does he regret that? secondly, the regulators under his government's watch were descriptive powers, including those of the ombudsman to investigate complaints without going to their mps before that happens. will he now take action, he doesn't have to wait for the reports to come out, to take action to strengthen regulations and also provide the much—needed resources . also provide the much—needed resources. we had to fight tooth and nail with grenfell united and... it is time he acted and provided additionalfunding needed is time he acted and provided additional funding needed so constituents can sleep at night, instead of having to worry about whether their homes will be set alight. sir martin notes that appliances were at the site within

five minutes, and he makes no findings about lack of resources, and not that i am aware on the other issues she raises. i do think it is absolutely vital that individuals are held accountable for their errors, and when we do so, we must do so very carefully. it is clear from this report that the firefighters on the ground where in a position they should never have been in, doing their damnedest to tackle a fire that should never have been allowed to happen. but that does not absolve us of responsibility. we must ensure that the failures identified by the enquiry are corrected, because not only does sir martin highlight the m ista kes only does sir martin highlight the mistakes made by the london fire brigade in responding to the

previous situation referred to earlier, he also raises concerns that the london fire brigade is, and i quote, at risk of not learning the lessons of the grenfell tower fire, and it is vital that they do so. and iam sure and it is vital that they do so. and i am sure that everyone at london fire brigade will want them to do so. because, as a constituency mp or as mayor, journalist, i never met any firefighter who was anything less tha n any firefighter who was anything less than totally committed to public safety, and i will be working with the london fire brigade, the mayor of‘s office and local authorities across london to ensure

the lessons of grenfell are learned and londoners are made safer because of it. i can confirm that where sir martin recommends responsibility for fire safety to be taken on by central government, we will legislate accordingly, and more widely, we plan to accept in principle all of the recommendations that sir martin makes for central government. we will set out how we plan to do so as quickly as possible. but i can assure the house and all those affected by the grenville tragedy, —— the grenfell tragedy, that action will follow. grenville tragedy, —— the grenfell tragedy, that action will followlj thank him for giving way and for his tone and delivery of his report. 0n the night of grenfell it took 28

minutes for an aerial appliance to arrive, and would he look at removing them and the cuts made to the fire service when he was mayor of london? -- the removal of them? he makes no recommendation on that point to the best of my knowledge. for the survivors, the bereaved and local community, this report will prove particularly harrowing. yet i hope it will strengthen their faith in his desire to determine the facts of the fire, and this government's commitment to airing those facts in

public no matter how difficult they may be, and acting on them. that commitment is absolute. i have given way enough. that commitment is absolute. because of any good is to come of this senseless tragedy, a tragedy that should never have happened, if it is to become a ca ta lyst happened, if it is to become a catalyst for change in our approach to fire safety and indeed to social housing more widely, then we must get to the truth about what happened and why, we must expose and fix the failings that allowed an otherwise safe building to become so dangerous, that allowed a small kitchen fire to become a devastating infernal that led so many people being told to stay in their homes when they could and should have been fleeing to safety. the enquiry is a

vital part of that. i would like to thank sir martin vital part of that. i would like to thank sirmartin and vital part of that. i would like to thank sir martin and his team for all their work so far, and i know that all current and former ministers and all public sector workers will fully cooperate with phase two, but while i know that uncovering the truth is very important to the survivors and bereaved, it is not the only aspect of the post grenfell story that requires our attention. so will be continue, as the previous prime minister promised, to support the affected families long after the television cameras are gone. we will continue the work of the grenfell recovery group which brings together the efforts of all parts of

government in meeting the needs of the community, we will continue to ensure that a beautiful and appropriate memorial is created on the site of the tower, a process being led by the bereaved and the local community. we will continue to make sure that those affected by the fire have an active and engaging role to play in implementing the lessons of grenville, including working closely with the ministry of housing to develop the policies and the social housing white paper. we will continue to implement the findings of the hackett review of building regulations, and i have asked the civil servants responsible for implementing sir martin's recommendations to provide me with regular and frequent updates on

their progress. i will not allow the lessons of this tragedy to fall through the cracks. the night of the 14th of june was through the cracks. the night of the 14th ofjune was a horrendous night, but in the darkness we have also seen the best of humanity. the residents who sacrificed their own lives to save their children or neighbours, the local community that rallied round in such an incredible fashion holding the survivors in a tight embrace as the authorities failed to step up. and the people here with us today, the bereaved and the survivors. those who had had every reason to hide away but who

have instead fought to uncover the truth about what happened that terrible night, who have forced themselves to relive time and again themselves to relive time and again the kind of trauma most of us mercifully cannot begin to imagine, and who have dedicated so much of their lives in so many ways to ensuring that those who died on the night of 14th ofjune 2017 will a lwa ys night of 14th ofjune 2017 will always be remembered, and to them i say once again that the truth will out and justice will be done and that grenfell tower and the people who called it home will never order, the question is that this house has considered the report from the grenfell tower inquiry. i called the grenfell tower inquiry. i called the leader of the opposition, jeremy corbyn. mr speaker, thank you, and

could i start by thanking the prime minister for the could i start by thanking the prime ministerfor the serious could i start by thanking the prime minister for the serious way in which he has approached this in the speech that he has given today on the findings of the first report on this. can i also thank you, mr speaker, for ensuring that we had a one minute of silence at the start of this debate for those that lost their lives on that terrible, terrible night. i want to start by paying tribute to the survivors of the fire and their family members, who had campaigned with such dignity and such determination for the past two years. and such determination for the past two yea rs. two and such determination for the past two years. two long years. many of them are here today in the gallery or watching this debate on television. and for them, it's yet another horrible day of remembering another horrible day of remembering a father, mother, brother, sister, nephew, niece that they will never see again and will never come back and these memories will never go

away and we