Grieving relatives of the Grenfell tragedy have accused London’s mayor of “sitting silently by” in a letter demanding he sack the capital’s fire chief.

Seven families have called for Dany Cotton, London Fire Brigade’s commissioner, to be sacked in the wake of a damning report into the death of 72 people who perished in the tower block fire.

Ms Cotton has announced she will retire in the spring and is able to keep her pension, worth an estimated £2 million.

The letter sent today to Sadiq Khan demands the London mayor act to remove Ms Cotton immediately from her post. It accuses the London mayor and other politicians of siding with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the Fire Brigades Union that represents rank and file members.

In the letter, the families state: “Nothing will bring our loved ones back. Nothing will take away the trauma of seeing our loved ones burn whilst we watched helplessly.

“Nothing will take away the noise, the smell... and we will never forget our last conversations on mobile phones as we said goodbye.

“Some of us are all that is left of our immediate families. For the Mayor of London to sit silently by and accept that changes will be made’ by an incompetent Fire Commissioner is expecting too much. And to expect us to be used as pawns in political priorities is much too much.”