Theresa May also says sorry for not having met victims until two days after the fire

The prime minister has admitted she still does not know why it took so long for the authorities to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Survivors have repeatedly complained about the lack of a co-ordinated official response in the hours and days after, saying it left them feeling abandoned while food and clothing for victims was delivered by volunteers on an ad hoc basis.

In an interview with Grenfell Speaks, a social media news channel, on the eve of the first anniversary of the fire, Theresa May said: “The response wasn’t good enough, that’s absolutely clear, from the beginning. We have been trying to ensure that as a government the response improved as I think it did over time. I don’t know why it took so long.”

There was widespread anger that May herself did not meet any victims until two days after the fire.

She said: “I am sorry for not having met them then. I regret that because I think people perhaps felt they wanted those of us in power to know that we had understood and recognised what had happened, and perhaps felt that not meeting them immediately meant that I didn’t care, and that was never the case.”

May also took aim at the Conservative-controlled Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: “When we looked at the response of the council in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, this wasn’t the first time the council hadn’t responded to their needs.”

She said the council had shown a lack of sensitivity in its dealings with survivors and the bereaved over rehousing.

The council has told the public inquiry that over 340 of its staff, including from neighbouring boroughs, were mobilised in response to the disaster on 14 June.

