Jacob Rees-Mogg slammed for saying Grenfell residents who followed instructions to ‘stay put’ lacked ’common s – The Sun, Thesun.co.uk

JACOB Rees-Mogg was slammed for suggesting Grenfell residents who followed the instructions of firefighters to “stay put” lacked “common sense”.

The Tory MP said if he was in a building blaze, he would leave “whatever the fire brigade said”.

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But the politician has been slammed over his comments about the fire thatkilled more than 70 people inside the West London buildingblock in June 2017.

Mr Rees-Mogg told LBC host Nick Ferrari: “The more one’s read over the weekend about the report and about the chances of people surviving, if you just ignore what you’re told and leave you are so much safer.

“And I think if either of us were in a fire, whatever the fire brigade said, we would leave the burning building.

“It just seems the common sense thing to do. And it is such a tragedy that that didn’t happen.”

A recent inquiry found residents had been told to “stay put” inside the tower block for longer than they should have, rather than telling them to escape.

Yvette Williams, chair of the campaign group Justice4Grenfell, said the politician’s comments were “appalling”.

She toldThe Mirror: “This is an appalling statement to make but unsurprisingly symptomatic of Rees Mogg’s ilk.

“Rees-Mogg has a privileged background, what is his experience of living in social housing? How many tower blocks has he lived in?

“To suggest that those who followed ‘his’ party’s instructions were not using ‘common sense’ is an absolute insult.”

Ahmet Chellat, who lost five family members in the horrific fire, also called on Rees-Mogg to apologise.

SYSTEMIC FAILURES

It comes after atwo year inquiryslammed the London Fire Brigade’s handling of the tragedy.

It found that few people may have died if key decisions had been made earlier, saying “systemic failures” had been made by the LFB.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick criticized the LFB for its “stay put” strategy when residents were told to stay in their flats by 999 operators and firefighters for nearly two hours.

The fire broke out just before 1am and the strategy was abandoned at 2. 47 am.

Sir Martin said: “That decision could and should have been made between 1. 30 am and 1. 50 am and would be likely to have resulted in fewer fatalities.

“The best part of an hour was lost before Assistant Commissioner Roe revoked the ‘stay put’ advice.”

However, Martin Blunden, the head of Scotland’s fire service, said it was “impossible to say” whether more lives could have been saved.

In a series of Tweets, he said: “To say that more lives could have been saved is impossible to say at this stage and it is disappointing to read such a conclusion.

“I do not believe blaming LFB’s commissioner or any staff is fair or correct.

“I understand the desire of those mourning to apportion blame and find out why.”

WRAPPED IN FLAMMABLE CLADDING

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has also questioned the inquiry process.

He said no one was trying to avoid scrutiny, but suggested the ordering of the inquiry was “completely back to front” and did not focus on the issues of the building’s construction.

He added: “The truth is that the fire spread the way it did because it was wrapped in flammable cladding.

“The firefighters turned up after that had happened, after the building had already been turned, in reality, into a death trap.”

Since the report’s release, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton expressed her “deepest sorrow” at not being able to save everyone from the fire.

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