A Labour councillor who lives next to Grenfell Tower has been named deputy mayor of Kensington and Chelsea in an effort to rebuild trust between the council and residents.

Beinazir Lasharie accepted the invitation from Mayor Marie Therese Rossi to become her deputy and will replace Gerard Hargreaves, who has agreed to stand aside.

Cllr Lasharie, a Big Brother contestant in 2009, represents the Notting Dale ward, which includes Grenfell Tower, and lives on the Lancaster West estate which adjoins the destroyed building.

Her family was evacuated from their home in the early hours of June 14 as flames took hold of the 24-storey building .

Tensions have run high since the disaster, with the Conservative-run council coming under increasing fire for its handling of the disaster.

Nick Paget-Brown stepped down as leader of the council , while his replacement Elizabeth Campbell has faced repeated calls to resign from members of the Grenfell community who say they have no trust in her or her administration.

Cllr Lasharie, whose father Mushtaq Lasharie served on the council for 18 years, said: “I love my community and want to do all that I can to help it and all residents of the borough recover and move forward after the tragedy of Grenfell.

Depuy Beinazir Lasharie along with Kensington and Chelsea Mayor Marie Therese Rossi

“This is the time to set aside politics and for all of us to work together.

"That is what I intend to do. We will get answers to the questions we all want and we will build a future by working together.”

Cllr Rossi said: “As a life-long resident of North Kensington and the second generation of her family to serve on the council, Beinazir has much to bring to the work of the mayoralty.

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“She has particular insight into the problems that we face as a community as she was herself directly affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower.

“I know she will help us build new connections and bring new voices to the council, as well as strengthening the ties we already value with many groups and individuals across the Royal Borough .”

Cllr Hargreaves will now become the Mayor’s Consort.

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