London

    The Government has finally announced when the Queen's Speech setting out Theresa May's legislative agenda will take place two days later than it should have. The event had originally been due on Monday, but amid the chaos that followed the election, Downing Street refused to confirm when it would happen. The Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom announced in Parliament that it will now take place on Wednesday next week, indicating that Ms May has sealed a deal with Northern Irish unionists to prop up her Government. In a statement, Ms Leadsom said: The Government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017. The Queen's Speech is effectively a list of all the laws that a government wants to pass over the cou...

    Serious questions need to be answered in the wake of the Grenfell Tower block fire which has left at least 12 dead. The blaze started just before 1am on Wednesday in a flat in one of the lower levels, somewhere between the 2nd and fourth floors. But in less than an hour, it had engulfed the entire 24-storey building in west London. A major investigation is being launched by the fire service, Metropolitan Police and the Health and Safety Executive. This disaster could well prove to be the deadliest fire since the Bradford City stadium blaze of 1985. Already, a number of serious concerns have been raised and many are demanding a public inquiry. The shell of the burnt out tower block Those who lost loved ones or their homes deserve answers. Here are 10 questions that could be...

    A distraught resident at Grenfell Tower has hit out at the Prime Minister for not speaking to survivors and residents during a private visit to the fire-ravaged site today. The woman - whose name is not known told Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that Theresa May was "s**t" after she broke through a police cordon to ask for his help. The resident said action needed to be taken to ensure there was no repeat of the horrific blaze, which has left at least 17 people dead with the death toll expected to rise. She told Mr Corbyn: Theresa May was here but she didn't speak to any of us. She was s**t. Mr Corbyn stopped to speak to the woman and told her he would do what he could to help and hugged another woman who told him about a missing 12-year-old girl who was on the 20th floor of t...

    There are still unknown numbers of people missing in the Grenfell Tower disaster and it could be weeks before the final death toll is established, London’s fire commissioner said today. Dany Cotton said that tragically we are not expecting to find anyone else alive as the number of fatalities confirmed so far rose to 17. Sniffer dogs were being sent in to search for further victims, she said. She warned that it would take a long time for firefighters to conduct a full search of the tower block because of the severity of the blaze. She said her colleagues and police would work in the quickest way possible but that the fingertip examination of the charred building had to be done properly so that relatives could be told with certainty whether their loved ones had perished. Ms...

A significant number of people in Kensington have been forced the leave their homes following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower today (14 June) . Residents of Tower Hamlets are being encouraged to donate clean clothes, children's toys, bottled water and toiletries to support those affected by the fire. Donations of the following are very much appreciated • Toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, disposable razors, body lotion, cotton wool, tissues) • Nappies, baby toiletries, baby food in jars, baby bottles and formula • Clothing – all sizes t-shirts, sweatpants, leggings, socks, underwear, hoodies, cardigans, slippers, nightwear • Bottled water • Non- perishable food. If you would like to help you can make your donations at collection bins at the front of Tower Hamlets...

    A resident who was trapped in the blazing inferno that ripped through a 24-storey tower block live-tweeted her escape. A huge fire broke out at Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in west London in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The London fire brigade said 200 firefighters and 40 engines were sent to the scene to tackle the inferno. The woman, whose Twitter handle is @rsrzy, posted her first tweet around 1:40am saying she was “stuck in this block” in response to a tweet from an onlooker saying firefighters were “struggling to bring the fire under control”. “Can’t leave my house because I’ll die from the smoke,” she continued as concerned followers offered advice. An hour later she posted another tweet saying people were jumping out of windows in a bid to es...

    Several people have been killed - and others remain trapped - in a large fire on a west London estate being battled by more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines. Horrified witnesses told how they saw people jumping from windows as high as the 15th floor of a tower block as a huge fire engulfed the building. More than 200 firefighters were called to the 27-storey Grenfell Tower near Ladbroke Grove just after 1.15am as flames raged through the building while people slept in their beds. Residents reportedly used bed sheets as makeshift ropes, while others are said to have jumped from their flats to escape the inferno as it tore through the building within minutes. One witness, named only as Daniel, told the BBC: “Nobody could come out, they were trapped in there. They co...