Grenfell Tower Demolition on Hold: Families Demand Preservation

The UK government paused Grenfell Tower's demolition after bereaved families threatened legal action to preserve walls with victims' handprints and inscriptions. The tower, site of a 2017 fire, was partially demolished despite promises of a memorial. Legal proceedings are ongoing to protect the site.

Britain's government announced the suspension of Grenfell Tower's demolition on Tuesday, following legal threats from bereaved families demanding the preservation of walls bearing victims' handprints.

The 24-storey tower in affluent west London was ravaged by fire in 2017, claiming 72 lives. Although demolition commenced last September, families discovered stairwell walls with handprints and an Arabic inscription, believed to belong to victims or survivors.

Despite a previous pledge by former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in 2015 to preserve parts of the tower for a memorial, demolition above the ninth floor is proceeding, sparking calls for a judicial review. While families and memorial designers discuss the future, the government's legal department has paused demolition above the 12th floor, but the inscription at higher levels has already been lost.

(With inputs from agencies.)