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THE lawyer representing Grenfell Tower fire survivors and victims’ families called yesterday for the inquiry to be “on the right side of history” and not to ignore the impact of poverty and race on the disaster.
Leslie Thomas QC opened yesterday’s proceedings into the fire, which killed 72 people, with a statement on how the issue of race was the “elephant in the room.”
He said: “The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum … A majority of the Grenfell residents who died were people of colour.
“This disaster happened in a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.
“Yet the community affected was predominantly working class. That is the stark reality that cannot be ignored.
“The impact of race and poverty on this disaster this inquiry must not be ignored.”
The Grenfell Next of Kin group has called for the inquiry to “investigate the extent of institutional racism as a factor” in the June 2017 tragedy.
