Remorse over Grenfell is freely given now those responsible are far from view | John Crace

For the 72 victims and their families, there must be hope that fine words in the commons will be backed up by finer deeds

This must never be allowed to happen again. How often have we heard that from a politician in parliament? I’ve almost lost count. In the recent past, we’ve had Hillsborough, the Post Office Horizon scandal and infected blood. And of course the Grenfell Tower fire. It seems that no matter how serious the inquiry, how deep the shame and the guilt, the tragedies just keep on coming.

But you can’t do nothing. You’ve got to hope. Hope that maybe this time something will change. That the fine words will be backed up by finer deeds. Not just to ensure the guilty, the negligent and the complicit are held accountable. But so the machinery of the state doesn’t roll back to its default settings. One where the powerful look after themselves and the less advantaged are hung out to die.

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