Keir Starmer has apologised on behalf of the British state to the families of the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The prime minister said he was “deeply sorry” following the publication of a damning report by the chairman of the Grenfell inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick.
He found that the deaths were “all avoidable” and that successive governments, officials and construction industry bosses failed to act on warnings about flammable cladding and insulation over three decades.
“Those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants,” Sir Martin said.
In a statement to the Commons as some of the victims’ families looked on from the public gallery, the prime minister said: “I want to start with an apology on behalf of the British state to each and every one of you, and indeed to all of the families, affected by this tragedy.
“It should never have happened. The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty - to protect you and your loved ones, the people we are here to serve - and I am deeply sorry.”
In his report, Sir Martin also hit out at the “systematic dishonesty” among those who made and sold cladding panels and insulation products which ended up on the outside of Grenfell Tower.
He said: “We conclude that the fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry to look carefully into the danger of incorporating combustible materials into the external walls of high-rise residential buildings and to act on the information available to them.”
Starmer said that the report’s findings and recommendations must “ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again”.
He said: “My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community. This day is for them.
“I hope that Sir Martin’s report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”
Natasha Elcock of Grenfell United, which represents some of the victims’ families, said they had “paid the price of systematic dishonesty, institutional indifference and neglect”.
In a statement, the organisation said: “To prevent a future Grenfell, the government needs to create something that doesn’t exist: a government with the power and ability to separate itself from the construction industry and corporate lobbying, putting people before profit.
“Over and above all, the judge concludes what we already knew, that every single loss of life was avoidable.
“We expect this government to break old habits and implement all of the recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick from the inquiry report without further delay, because the time to address this is already three decades too late.”