'Shame on you': Theresa May heckled with cries of 'coward' by furious Grenfell Tower victims as she leaves Kensington

Francesca Gillett16 June 2017

Theresa May has been heckled with yells of “shame on you” after meeting Grenfell Tower victims in Kensington as a furious protest raged nearby.

The Prime Minister had gone to St Clement’s Church, close to the scene of the west London blaze, to meet with victims, residents and volunteers at just before 5pm on Friday.

But as Mrs May left, an angry crowd targeted her with cries of “coward”.

One woman, who was crying, said the Prime Minister failed to speak to anyone outside the meeting, which lasted just under than hour.

Police and crowds outside St Clement's Church in west London during a visit from PM Theresa May.
PA

Police officers held back the angry demonstrators and broke up a scuffle between members of the crowd as Mrs May's car drove off.

It comes after the PM faced growing criticism after faiing to meet victims during a visit of the base of the tower site following the blaze, which broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

On Friday she visited survivors at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, spending nearly an hour speaking to patients and staff. She then headed to the church in north Kensington.

A woman is held up as she collapses during a visit to a church by PM Theresa May.
REUTERS

After her visits, Downing Street announced £5 million of funding will be spent on emergency supplies, food and clothing for the victims.

In a written statement issued after the meeting in Kensington, Mrs May said: "The individual stories I heard this morning at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital were horrific. I spoke with people who ran from the fire in only the clothes they were wearing.

"They have been left with nothing - no bank cards, no money, no means of caring for their children or relatives. One woman told me she had escaped in only her top and underwear.

Theresa May leaving the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
PA

"The package of support I'm announcing today is to give the victims the immediate support they need to care for themselves and for loved ones. We will continue to look at what more needs to be done.

"Everyone affected by this tragedy needs reassurance that the Government is there for them at this terrible time - and that is what I am determined to provide."

At least 30 people have been confirmed dead but many others are more missing. Police said they expect some bodies may never be identified.

The death toll is expected to rise further with more than 70 people in total still believed to be unaccounted for.

Elsewhere in the area, hundreds of angry protesters stormed into Kensington town hall on Friday afternoon demanding answers from the council.

Protesters storm Kensington town hall

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The protesters handed the council a list of five demands and the local authority responded with a written statement.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has previously said displaced survivors face being moved away from friends and family to other parts of London after the fire which left the tower uninhabitable - but housing minister Alok Sharma pledged all those affected would be rehomed in the borough.

Mrs May's visits followed one by the Queen and the Duke of Cambridge, who met volunteers and those who had lost everything.

Met Police commander Stuart Cundy said: "The building itself is in a very hazardous state. It is going to take a period of time for our specialists, both from the police and from the London Fire Brigade, to fully search that building to make sure we locate and recover everybody that has sadly perished in that fire. We will be doing that as swiftly as we can."

An investigation led by a senior detective from Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command is under way with calls for "corporate manslaughter" arrests to be made.

Mr Cundy vowed police "will get to the answer of what has happened and why", adding: "If criminal offences have been committed it is us who will investigate that."

It came as a second victim of the disaster was named as 24-year-old artist Khadija Saye.

Ms Saye was in her flat on the 20th floor when the fire struck, with her mother Mary Mendy, who is thought to be in her 50s.

Syrian refugee Mohammed Alhajali, 23, was also killed in the fire.

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