London fire chief Dany Cotton is forced to quit early after ‘remarkable insensitivity’ over Grenfell response
LONDON fire chief Dany Cotton has been forced to quit early after showing "remarkable insensitivity" in her response to the Grenfell tragedy.
A damaging report into the blaze accused the force of "serious shortcomings" after it found that the failure to evacuate the tower block sooner meant fewer lives were saved.
Seventy-two people died in the inferno in Kensington, West London, on June 14, 2017.
Findings from a two-year inquiry into the fire slammed Ms Cotton and LFB officials for their "gravely inadequate" planning.
The report also criticised Ms Cotton for showing “remarkable insensitivity” after she told the public inquiry she'd have done nothing differently in terms of how the brigade responded to the fire.
Ms Cotton said that preparing for a cladding fire of that kind would have been like developing “a training package for a space shuttle landing on the Shard”.
Natasha Elcock, the chair of the Grenfell United group, described the comments at the time as “heartbreaking and disrespectful".
'THE RIGHT DECISION'
Ms Cotton had already announced in June that she planned to retire next April, at the age of 50, after facing heavy criticism from survivors and the bereaved.
But she will now step down on December 31, four months earlier than planned, on a full £140,000-a-year pension.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I want to thank Dany Cotton for her 32 years of service at the London Fire Brigade.
“I believe this decision is the right one.
"I will be appointing a new fire commissioner shortly and it’s right that they can quickly take on the responsibility to drive forward the changes being made within the brigade, and to deliver on the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.”
'LESSONS NEED TO BE LEARNT'
Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivor group, welcomed the move.
“This change in leadership is needed to keep Londoners safe," they said in a statement.
"The incoming Commissioner must ensure that they move swiftly to ensure those recommendations are implemented and be determined in their efforts to ensure the lessons of Grenfell are learnt.”
Nabil Choucair, who lost six family members in the Grenfell Tower fire, said it was a "disgrace" that it had taken this long for Ms Cotton to step down.
"It's a shame that it's taken pressure from the families," he told the PA news agency.
"If she cared and understood, she would have done it a long time ago. It should not have taken this long, it's a disgrace."
It makes us feel not quite as hopeless, it gives us hope that justice will be done.
Flora Neda, who lost her husband in the Grenfell blaze
Flora Neda, who lost her husband in the blaze, said she was "happy" about the news of Ms Cotton's earlier than expected retirement.
"It's a step forward for us," she said.
"It makes us feel not quite as hopeless, it gives us hope that justice will be done."
As well identifying multiple failures by the LFB, the inquiry did praise the ";extraordinary bravery and selfless devotion to duty" of heroic regular firefighters.
London's first female fire commissioner said the most difficult moment of her career was when she gave evidence to the public inquiry into the blaze.
The "utter devastation" of the blaze and its impact would never leave her, she said.
Ms Cotton tackled multiple disasters during her decades of service.
Just three months after joining LFB, she attended the Clapham Rail disaster in which 33 people died.
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She was also at the blaze near the Olympic Stadium on the evening of the London 2012 closing ceremony, which was attended by 40 fire engines.
In 2017, the brigade under her watch responded to three terrorist incidents in the capital.
She was the first woman to receive the Queen's Fire Service medal in 2004.
