Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

'We can't breathe' projected on Grenfell in stark reminder of final 999 calls

The words ‘we can’t breathe’ were projected onto the Grenfell Tower last night in a powerful message ahead of the second phase of the inquiry.
They were the last words uttered by some of the 72 victims in their final calls to loved ones before perishing in the fire.

But they were also the last words spoken by George Floyd, whose death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, US, ignited the Black Lives Matter movement across the world.

Leslie Thomas QC, representing a group of survivors and bereaved families, opened the court proceedings today by saying the issue of race was the ‘elephant in the room’.

He said: ‘The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum… A majority of the Grenfell residents who died were people of colour.

‘Grenfell is inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room.

‘This disaster happened in a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.

‘Yet the community affected was predominantly working class. That is the stark reality that cannot be ignored. The impact of race and poverty on this disaster this inquiry must not ignore.’

The Grenfell Next of Kin group has called for the inquiry to ‘investigate the extent of institutional racism as a factor’ in the tragedy June 2017.

According to legal submissions to the inquiry: ‘Four of the 72 people who lost their lives were visiting the Tower.

‘Baby Logan Gomes was stillborn. Of the remaining 67, 57 were from BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) communities.

‘In the English Housing Survey 2017-2018, it was found that 40% of those living in high rise buildings in the social rented sector are black, Asian or other. This, compared to the percent of the population (14%), is high.’

Mr Thomas told the inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick: ‘I place this charge to this inquiry. You, sir and your panel, this is your time of action to break the cycle of disengagement with the issue of race and inequality.

‘What will this inquiry be remembered for? You will undoubtedly want it to be on the right side of history.

‘Our client’s perception is that the inquiry is deaf to their concerns.’

Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy earlier said: ‘I do think issues of structural discrimination and disadvantage play a role.

‘I would have thought that they should be central to the framework in which Moore-Bick is looking at the issues.’

Mr Lammy was launching a public artwork display in Notting Hill featuring pieces by his friend Khadija Saye, 24, a Gambian-British artist who died in the fire.

He remembered the ‘tender, beautiful and creative soul’ whose work ‘reflects that deep sensibility that was part of her personality’.

Mr Lammy added: ‘This exhibition reminds us of the dignity and humanity with which we remember those who lost their lives.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×