UK: Grenfell Inquiry begins to hear evidence

UK: Grenfell Inquiry begins to hear evidence
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By Catherine Hardy with Reuters
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The first phase of the public inquiry into last June's fire in the tower block is due to open in London. 71 people lost their lives.

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June 2017 - a catastrophic blaze engulfed Grenfell Tower in West London.

71 people died in the fire in the 24-storey social housing block, which broke out late at night.

And today, a public inquiry starts in the UK capital into what happened.

What we will hear are what are being called "commemorative hearings" - that means testimony about those who died from friends and relatives.

Evidence from survivors and firefighters who attended the scene will also be heard later on.

Public inquiry

This is the first phase of the public inquiry.

The second phase, due to start sometime in October, will focus on the decisions taken before, during and after the disaster.

Public inquiries make recommendations to improve the quality of government.

A separate police investigation is under way in what happened at Grenfell which could result in criminal charges.

What do people want from the inquiry?

 Those involved say they want justice.

Were safety standards met in the design, construction, maintenance and refurbishment of the tower?

Even before the deadly blaze, residents had been voicing serious safety concerns about the building.

But they say their warnings were ignored.

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