The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant management Organisation (TMO) has been stripped of responsibility of the estate which housed Grenfell Tower, survivors have been told by Theresa May.
The Prime Minister also told them during a meeting on Tuesday (August 22), that Kensington and Chelsea Council “did not react quickly enough after the fire”, and gave her support to Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the head of the public inquiry who came under fire for opting against considering the broader social and political issues raised by the tragedy.
She had been invited to meet around 60 or 70 survivors and residents of the west London tower block privately to discuss concerns over the handling of the aftermath of the fire, which killed more than 80 people, and has passed on her concerns to council leader Elizabeth Campbell.
Following the meeting a Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister acknowledged residents’ concerns about the culture of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Tenant Management Organisation.
“She confirmed that the TMO will be removed from the management of the Lancaster West (Grenfell Tower) estate and she recognised that the council did not respond quickly enough after the fire.
“She agreed that it was important that the council listen to and respond to the issues residents face about the support and information they were receiving, including from key workers and housing officers.”
And addressing Sir Martin’s inquiry, the spokesman added: “The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of the independence of the inquiry, including on questions about how it was run.
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“She reiterated that any resident who wanted to take part would be able to and that the Government would fund any legal representation required.
“She explained that while the judge had not proposed including wider questions related to social housing within the terms of reference, the government recognised that these should be taken forward elsewhere and had asked the housing minister Alok Sharma to begin this by holding conversations with social housing tenants across the country.”
The Prime Minister was criticised for initially failing to meet survivors when she went to the site of the tragedy.
Speaking during a visit on Wednesday (August 23) morning to Guidlford, Mrs May said residents were pleased to hear the TMO had been stripped of its involvement.
She said: “It was a very good meeting last night, it was very dignified, a very respectful meeting, and obviously people did have concerns that they were raising and I was pleased that I was able to tell them - because the Tenant Management Organisation is one of the issues that residents have been very concerned about - I was able to tell them that the Tenant Management Organisation will no longer have responsibility for the Lancaster West housing estate."
The TMO chief executive Robert Black stepped down following the disaster, and his interim replacement was criticised after failing to refer to the fire in her opening statement.
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