Jacob Rees-Mogg says sorry to Grenfell victims for saying they lacked ‘common sense’
Jacob Rees-Mogg has apologised to Grenfell victims for saying they lacked “common sense”.
The Leader of the House of Commons said on Monday it would be common sense to have ignored the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) advice to “stay and wait” during the fire, which killed 72 people.
Read more: Grenfell report: Fire services’ serious shortcomings contributed to deaths at Grenfell
Rees-Mogg told Nick Ferrari on his LBC radio show yesterday that if either of them were in Grenfell Tower “we would leave the burning building…It just seems like the common sense thing to do”.
On Tuesday morning he apologised for the comments in a statement to the Evening Standard.
“I profoundly apologise,” he said.
“What I meant to say is that I would have also listened to the fire brigade’s advice to stay and wait at the time.
“However, with what we know now and with hindsight I wouldn’t and I don’t think anyone else would.
“I would hate to upset the people of Grenfell if I was unclear in my comments.”
Rees-Mogg’s original comments caused an outrage on Twitter, with some people calling for the cabinet member to resign.
Justice 4 Grenfell – a group for Grenfell survivors and the bereaved community – said his comments were “appalling”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “What possesses someone to react to an entirely avoidable tragedy like Grenfell by saying the victims lacked common sense?
“People were terrified, many died trying to escape.”
Read more: Grenfell survivors welcome inquiry report
The initial findings of an inquiry into what happened at Grenfell criticised the LFB for its role in the disaster.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s first report from the inquiry said the LFB should have told people to leave the building and that firefighters were ill-equipped to deal with the situation.
The report said that some of the deaths could have been avoided if fire services acted differently.