The London Tower Blaze Exposes a Divided Britain
- Police fear death toll from fire may reach ‘triple figures’
- ‘Austerity went up in those flames,’ one Kensington local says
The damaged Grenfell Tower in London.
Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The black, smoldering shell of a London apartment block is the harrowing symbol of everything locals say has gone wrong in their city.
The inferno that ripped through the 24-story tower in the small hours of Wednesday morning left at least 30 people dead, 24 hospitalized and many more missing. For devastated locals, some still searching for loved ones, it was emblematic of how they have been abandoned by an uncaring government that spent the last seven years slashing spending on vital services.