An official decision on whether to demolish Grenfell Tower is set to be made on Friday.
Bereaved families and survivors of the tower block fire are understood to have been told by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Wednesday that it will be demolished.
Ms Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, is understood to have been met with gasps from shocked families who felt there had not been enough consultation.
An official update will be given on Friday, but the Government has previously said there will be no changes to the west London site before the eighth anniversary of the disaster in June.
There needs to a sensitive conversation with the community about the means, the manner and the timing of that, and I have every reason to believe that the department and Angela Rayner are doing that
Former housing secretary Michael Gove said that at some stage the tower would have to be taken down.
Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There needs to a sensitive conversation with the community about the means, the manner and the timing of that, and I have every reason to believe that the department and Angela Rayner are doing that.”
He added: “Even as the tower is brought down, it’s really important that the Government and other agencies accelerate the pursuit of justice, because for some people who are deeply affected by the tragedy, the continuing presence of the tower, painful as it is, is still a goad to the conscience of the nation to ensure that those, particularly those construction product manufacturers, who were responsible for the tragedy, are pursued in the right way.”
Grenfell United, which represents some bereaved and survivors, said it appeared from the room on Wednesday that “no-one supported” the Government’s decision.
It is understood some asked if the decision could be reversed.
We have not been properly consulted or engaged with in making the decision to take down Grenfell Tower
A petition has since been launched by a survivor, calling for all those affected to be “effectively consulted” on the tower’s future.
Emma O’Connor, who lived on the 20th floor and escaped the burning block on the night, said a decision to demolish the tower should be stalled until there is more community engagement.
She wrote: “We have not been properly consulted or engaged with in making the decision to take down Grenfell Tower. There has been no justice. Until there is, Grenfell Tower must stand.”
Directly addressing Ms Rayner, Ms O’Connor said she should “show us some respect”.
She added: “We demand that every Grenfell bereaved, survivor, resident of Lancaster West estate and Notting Dale ward where the Grenfell Tower still remains, have the opportunity to vote on the future of the tower and what a suitable memorial for the ones we lost in the 2017 fire should look like.”
The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting in recent years on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower, with recommendations including a “sacred space”, designed to be a “peaceful place for remembering and reflecting”.
It is expected that a planning application for a memorial could be submitted in late 2026.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the victims of the disaster, which claimed the lives of 72 people, must always be “in our mind’s eye”, when asked about their claims of a lack of consultation.
