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Devastated relatives of Grenfell Tower victims call for fire brigade chief to be prosecuted

RELATIVES of Grenfell Tower victims have called for London’s fire chief to be prosecuted after her brigade was blasted for its response.

The first official report into the tragedy condemned the organisation for “serious shortcomings” and “gravely inadequate” preparations.

 London fire brigade chief Dany Cotton has been singled out as 'insensitive' for defending the decision to tell residents to 'stay put'
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London fire brigade chief Dany Cotton has been singled out as 'insensitive' for defending the decision to tell residents to 'stay put'
 Hadman El Alami, a relative of victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, spoke during a news conference in London
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Hadman El Alami, a relative of victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, spoke during a news conference in LondonCredit: Reuters
 The 2017 blaze at Grenfell Tower resulted in 72 deaths
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The 2017 blaze at Grenfell Tower resulted in 72 deathsCredit: AFP

Its head, Dany Cotton, 50, was singled out as “insensitive” for defending the decision to tell residents to “stay put”.

But she insisted she would not be quitting her £234,000 job — despite the report finding that lives could have been saved by an earlier evacuation.

She said: “It’s important for me to continue to protect the people of London.”

Instead, she will retire in April with a pension pot of around £2million.

When asked about accusations of criminal negligence, Ms Cotton said: “I think it is right that the police are the ones who will look into that. We are fully cooperating with them.”

Her decision not to stand down has infuriated family of the 72 victims.

Nazanin Aghlani, who lost two relatives in the June 2017 inferno, said Ms Cotton and other LFB bosses “should be prosecuted for manslaughter”.

Paulos Tekle, whose five-year old boy died, called for Ms Cotton to be held accountable, saying: “If we were helped properly, my son would be here today.”

Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members, said the fire chief should lose her pension.

He said: “She doesn’t deserve it.”

 Dany Cotton's decision not to stand down has infuriated families of the victims
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Dany Cotton's decision not to stand down has infuriated families of the victimsCredit: Reuters
 Nazanin Aghlani, who lost two relatives in the fire, said Ms Cotton 'should be prosecuted for manslaughter'
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Nazanin Aghlani, who lost two relatives in the fire, said Ms Cotton 'should be prosecuted for manslaughter'Credit: Jon Bond - The Sun
 Paulos Tekle, whose five-year-old son died, called for Ms Cotton to be held accountable
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Paulos Tekle, whose five-year-old son died, called for Ms Cotton to be held accountableCredit: Jon Bond - The Sun
 Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members, said the fire chief should lose her pension
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Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members, said the fire chief should lose her pensionCredit: Getty Images - Getty

PM vow of action

BORIS Johnson yesterday admitted that victims and survivors were let down before and after the blaze.

The PM also told the Commons that the Government will accept all 46 of the report’s recommendations.

As victims’ families watched from the public gallery, he said they’d been “shamefully failed by institutions that were supposed to serve them”.

And he vowed: “I will not allow the lessons of this tragedy to fall through the cracks.”

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton responds to Grenfell families' fury at fire chief's £2m retirement payout


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