Latest: Three victims named as Grenfell death toll rises to 79
Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, also known as Khadija Saye, 24, Abufars Ibrahim, 39, and Anthony Disson, 65, all lived in the 24-storey block, which was destroyed by a huge blaze last Wednesday in west London.
Five people have been formally identified, including 23-year-old Mohammad Alhajali and a woman whose family do not want her name to be released.
The rest are missing presumed dead, Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said on Monday.
In a statement, the family of Mr Disson said: "Our family are devastated at receiving the news that Tony sadly did not survive the fire at Grenfell Tower.
"Tony leaves behind a large family, his wife, sons and grandchildren, including one grandchild he will never get to meet.
"We miss him terribly, and are pulling together as a family and trying to stay strong under these tragic circumstances. We ask at this time that our family are left to grieve in private."
Residents living near Grenfell Tower say they have been told they face three weeks without mains water in the height of summer if they return to their homes.
Locals said they had been told they can go back to neighbouring blocks "at their own risk".
But one mother with several children said she had been told by a Kensington and Chelsea council official she would have to take them to the nearby Westway sports centre to wash them until the mains were turned back on.
The sports centre is being used as the main refuge place for those made homeless by the deadly blaze which killed at least 79 people on Wednesday.
The woman said an expected call on Monday afternoon from an official about temporary accommodation had not come.
Since their block was evacuated she had slept in several places, including her car.
She decided on Sunday night to return to their flat.
She said: "We have no water. Do they expect us to live like this for three weeks?
"An idiot from the council said if we want to wash we should go to the sports centre. For three weeks I have to come here with the children and wash ourselves?"
Her daughter added: "We don't live in a Third World country, we live in a rich country. They can't give us a hotel room so we can wash properly."
The mother also claimed that the morning after the blaze, fire alarms in her block which had been broken for five years, had been fixed.
Three victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster have been named by the Metropolitan Police as Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, 24, also known as Khadija Saye, Anthony Disson, 65, and 39-year-old Abufars Ibrahim.
Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross has said he is "bloody furious" that ministers have ignored calls for sprinklers to be installed in all social housing.
Mr Ross has been campaigning on the issue for 15 years, while he now also chairs heritage body the Kensington Society.
He told BBC Radio 4's World at One that a series of ministers - including now-London Mayor Sadiq Khan back in 2009 - had turned down his efforts to make changes.
Some 300 people were killed in house fires last year, Mr Ross said, adding that most of them lived in social housing that was not high rise.
"We need to think of all social housing, just as we used to think of all hotels, and we've got to put in proper precautions," he said.
The UK Fire Brigade Union has called for victims to be central to the public inquiry and to have legal representation paid for by the Government.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU has said that firefighters and victims of the fire want answers.
The inquiry will not only look at what caused the fire but who was responsible for the building and for any alterations.
Police say 79 people are either dead or missing presumed dead after #GrenfellTower fire https://t.co/58EfCe2fXa pic.twitter.com/lhtJlzR1bg
— BBC Three (@bbcthree) June 19, 2017
There were emotional scenes this morning as firefighters halted work to join residents and the rest of the UK for a minute's silence for those who lost their lives.
- Death toll has risen to 79.
- 250 investigatiors are now working on the case and primary aim is to identify victims.
- General secretary of FBU Matt Wrack said the inquiry will not only look at what caused the fire but who was responsible for the building and for any alterations.
- Downing St have confirmed that several London boroughs had come together to co-ordinate assistance to those affected by the disaster.
- The move came after Theresa May said that initial support on the ground was "not good enough".
- Spokesperson for Downing St said in respsonse to calls for May to resign that she is leading the country through this difficult time.
- May has promised to rehouse those affected within three weeks
- British councils have been asked to check by the end of today whether tower blocks have been cladded using similar material.
Firefighters apologising for those they were unable to save is heart breaking. Can't imagine whats going through their minds #GrenfellTower
— Emma Jordan-Wales (@emmajordanwales) June 19, 2017
There were emotional scenes at the site in north Kensington at 11am as firefighters halted work to join residents for a minute's silence held to remember those who lost their lives and all others affected by the blaze.
The silence was also observed at Government buildings across the country.
Metropolitan Police Commander, Stuart Cundy said that a team of some 250 investigators were now working on the case, with a primary aim being to identify victims and inform their loved ones as soon as possible.
#GrenfellTower urgently needs #interpreters in Arabic, Bengali and Eritrean. Please e-mail chairman@apciinterpreters.org.uk for more info.
— Katya Ford (@KatyaFord) June 19, 2017
The death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire has risen to 79, police said.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said five people had been formally identified and the rest were "sadly" missing presumed dead.
Mr Cundy said the death toll may still change, but not as significantly as it has in recent days.
He fought back tears as he told reporters about the scene inside the 24-storey tower in north Kensington.
Footage from inside the gutted building has been released, showing the extent of the damage caused by the blaze.
He said it had been "incredibly emotional working in there", adding: "On Saturday I went in myself and went to the top floor.
"And it is incredibly hard to describe the devastation in some parts of that building."
Five people who had been reported missing after the disaster have been found safe and well, he added.
Again Glasgow had a #minutessilence at 11 in #Glasgowcentral station for #GrenfellTower @Glasgow_Live @STVNews @TheEveningTimes @LeaderGCC pic.twitter.com/wqFRZap8Uh
— Alisdair woodburn (@Naburn2) June 19, 2017
Mr Cundy said: "Sadly, as of this morning, I am afraid to say there are now 79 people who we believe are now dead or missing and we have to presume they are dead."
He said police had received some 70 pictures and videos of the fire from the public and urged them to send more as officers investigate the blaze.
He would not be drawn on the specifics of the criminal investigation of the fire, including whether anyone had been arrested or raids carried out.
As anger continued in the wake of the disaster, described by London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a "preventable accident", the Government announced on Sunday that those left homeless will be given at least £5,500 from an emergency fund.
Residents will be given £500 in cash followed by a bank payment for the rest from Monday, with the money coming from the £5 million fund announced by Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday.
Speaking outside Scotland Yard, Mr Cundy added: "I have investigated major crime for most of my service and I have seen some terrible things. But I don't think anything prepared me for what I was going to see when I was in there.
"It's hard to describe my feelings, because I cannot imagine, and I would not want to put myself in the position of those families who have lost their loved ones.
"But being with colleagues from the London Fire Brigade when I was in there, colleagues from the London Ambulance Service and other police officers, I think it's fair to say it is incredibly emotional working in there.
"But we will do it with our utmost professionalism and we will do everything we can as quickly as we can to locate everybody who is in there."
The death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire has risen to 79, police said.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said five people had been formally identified and the rest were "sadly" missing presumed dead.
He told reporters the "awful reality" was that it might not be possible to identify all the victims.
Some families have lost more than one member, he added.
The announcement came ahead of a minute's silence to be held at 11am across all Government buildings to remember the people who lost their lives and all those affected by the fire in north Kensington last week.
Eerie footage from inside the burnt-out remains of Grenfell Tower has offered a harrowing first glimpse of the extent of the disaster.
Three short video clips and a handful of still images, released by the Metropolitan Police on Sunday evening, show remnants of appliances coated in ash as sunlight pours in through the glass-less windows.
Panoramic footage shows a flat littered with piles of debris, coated in black and grey ash - it is one of the few rooms safe enough for specialist crews to access following the blaze, which took hold in the early hours of Wednesday and has claimed at least 58 lives. The latest death toll will be updated on Monday.
Eerie footage from inside remains of Grenfell Tower offers harrowing first glimpse of the extent of the disaster https://t.co/fOaMuIMlFK pic.twitter.com/EZDhOCbUM8
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 18, 2017
Burnt objects including baths, ovens, washing machines, and what looks to be an exercise bike, can be made out amongst the fragments.
A sink unit rests on the ground, with its tap mostly intact. Pipes are exposed at crooked angles, and parts of the walls are completely blackened.
In one clip, as well as household appliances, what looks to be the remains of a bed can be seen, with its springs completely exposed.
The fire appears to have burnt through the internal walls of the flat pictured, leaving it as one large room with remains of kitchen appliances at its centre, and remnants of the bathroom in a corner.
Tiles and other fragments have entirely filled the sink and toilet bowl.
