Grenfell Tower fire a 'culmination of decades of failure': UK inquiry

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00:00Seven years after the disaster that shook England, a long-awaited final report has been

00:07released by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

00:10Seventy-two people died when fire ripped through the 23-storey public housing residence in

00:15one of the richest areas of West London.

00:18The report determined blame lies with the government, construction industry, and most

00:23of all, the companies that installed flammable panels called cladding on the outside of the

00:29The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable and those who lived in

00:36the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways

00:42by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants.

00:49Following the report's release, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologised on behalf

00:54of the state.

00:55The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty, to protect you and your

01:01loved ones, the people that we are here to serve, and I am deeply sorry.

01:07An electrical fault in a refrigerator on the fourth floor started the fire.

01:12Flames spread uncontrollably, fuelled by the flammable exterior cladding.

01:17Harrowing accounts from inside the building led to fury over building standards and the

01:22treatment of low-income communities.

01:24While Wednesday's 1,700-page report offers insight into how the blaze happened, survivors

01:31and victims' families want justice.

01:34Marcio Gomez survived the fire but lost his son.

01:38You can't help but think, you know, he'd have been seven, he'd have been eight, and his

01:43death was avoidable.

01:45I want to see people behind bars.

01:47I want to see the corporations punished to the maximum, and that's not going to bring

01:53my son back, and it's not going to bring anybody else back, but it's just a step forward to

01:59what justice may look like.

02:01Today, more than 3,000 buildings in Britain standing five storeys or higher still have

02:07unsafe cladding, and work to fix them has yet to start on more than two-thirds of them.

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