Rapper Stormzy has joined families of the Grenfell fire victims in rejecting remarks by cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Prominent Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg has drawn criticism after he suggested that victims of the Grenfell Tower fire could have used common sense to ignore the instructions of the fire service and leave the burning building.
A long-time supporter of the Grenfell survivors, Stormzy said hearing those remarks from a senior government minister was "nuts to me".
An official inquiry into the catastrophic chain of events in June 2017 that turned an ordinary kitchen fire into an inferno that killed 71 people last week found that combustible cladding contributed to the tragedy.
It also questioned fire brigade advice that residents should stay put.
"If you just ignore what you're told and leave, you are so much safer," Mr Rees-Mogg, leader of the UK House of Commons, told LBC radio in an interview on Monday.
"And I think if either of us were in a fire, whatever the fire brigade said, we would leave the burning building. It just seems the common sense thing to do."
The retired judge leading the inquiry into the blaze said commanders had stuck for too long with the “stay put” strategy, which meant residents calling the emergency services as the tower burned were advised to remain in their apartments and await rescue.
He said there would have been fewer fatalities if an evacuation order had been given an hour or more earlier.
The death of 72 people on 14 June 2017 in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea represents the country's biggest single loss of life in London since World War Two.
'Lacking the most basic humanity'
Expressing his anger in a social media post, Stormzy said he was frustrated with what he called the lack of empathy shown by politicians like Jacob Rees-Mogg.
“These politicians are actual aliens,” he tweeted.
“Bare [so many] of you politicians are evil and wicked and this is why we hate you,” he said. “72 people died in a tragedy that you are to blame for … This ain’t about politics, it’s about the people who govern us lacking the most basic humanity or empathy. It’s nuts to me.”
A critic of Theresa May's handling of the Grenfell fire tragedy, Stormzy has also been outspoken about the country's knife-crime crisis and the racial inequities in the criminal justice system.
During this year's Glastonbury festival, the rapper conveyed his message by wearing a stab-proof vest designed by street artist Bansky. The customised vest featured the Union Jack as protest against the jailing of young black kids.
'Beyond disrespectful'
Families of the victims and opposition lawmakers criticised the remarks.
The Justice 4 Grenfell group described the remarks by the British MP as "appalling".
Survivors' group Grenfell United said the comments were insulting to bereaving families.
"The Leader of the House of Commons suggesting that the 72 people who lost their lives at Grenfell lacked common sense is beyond disrespectful.
"It is extremely painful and insulting to bereaved families."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn labelled the comments "crass and insensitive".
"What possesses someone to react to an entirely avoidable tragedy like Grenfell by saying the victims lacked common sense? People were terrified, many died trying to escape," Mr Corbyn said.
Rees-Mogg apologises, clarifies remarks
Mr Rees-Mogg on Tuesday said he "profoundly apologised" for upsetting survivors and victims' relatives.
He said he had meant to say he also would have followed the fire brigade's advice at the time, but with hindsight following the tragedy it was clear the advice went against common sense.
"What's so sad is that the advice given overrides common sense because everybody would want to leave a burning building," he said in comments reported by the Evening Standard.
"I would hate to upset the people of Grenfell if I was unclear in my comments. With hindsight and after reading the report no one would follow that advice. That's the great tragedy."
Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said he was shocked that a senior government official would suggest the public ignore the advice of firefighters.
He said the "stay put" policy was designed for circumstances when an evacuation was not safe and had saved countless lives in the past.
“Residents were thrown into a terrifying, impossible situation at Grenfell – for Jacob Rees-Mogg to suggest it would be ‘common sense’ to ignore the advice that they were given was crass and insensitive,” said Mr Wrack, general secretary of the FBU.
Additional reporting: AAP, Reuters.
