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Grenfell Tower to Be Demolished, Families Informed

by DD Staff

February 05, 2025

Grenfell Tower

key takeaways

At a meeting with survivors and grieving family members, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced that the government had made the decision to destroy Grenfell Tower, according to the BBC.

The tower block in west London caught fire in June 2017, killing 72 people.

After years of discussion, the 24-story tower was finally decided to be replaced with a new memorial, while some hoped it would stay in place as a permanent reminder of the catastrophe.

It is anticipated that the government will make an official announcement on Friday.

Representing the organization Grenfell Next of Kin, which provides support to some of the families affected by the tragedy, Kimia Zabihyan informed the BBC that she was present at the discussion with Rayner and that the tower would be demolished to the lowest floor.

She described the meeting as "charged", but said Rayner appeared to have come along with the "best of intentions".

"The deputy prime minister was very clear that she has taken this decision very seriously, that it is a serious responsibility and that it is a very sensitive decision to make, but it is one that she felt she had to make," said Ms Zabihyan, adding that Rayner said she made the decision based on what engineers had recommended.

The magnitude of the fire damage has previously alerted the administration that the building might be dangerous.

Ms Zabihyan said she agreed with the decision, but that many people were very unhappy about it.

She said at the meeting, one person told Rayner that "no-one cares about this more than me, because I had just bits of bone to bury of my mother so that building means a lot to me. That is where her soul is, where her ashes are. It's in that building."