Very upsetting story about six people, including a three-week-old baby girl, being burnt to death in the 12-storey Lakanal House, which is on the Sceaux Gardens Estate in Southwark.
The BBC report quotes one resident, Carol Cooper who lives in the seventh floor, saying the tenants had called for the block to be demolished two or three years ago "but had been told it was a listed building and had to be preserved." If true that is a complete scandal.
The block has one central stairwell. The stairwells in such blocks are often a focal point for gangs of youths to cause trouble - so inevitably there is suspicion the fire was started deliberately. But how can it possibly be justified for these hideous death traps to be "listed buildings"?
