Westminster Hall

Harriet Harman - who had a deadly fire in a tower block in her Camberwell and Peckham six years ago - is now speaking.

She paid tribute to council staff who worked round the clock to help.

She said it was a job for the state to sort out banks so people affected by the fire can get access to their money and also travel documents and immigration problems.

The investigation into the fire at Lakehal House in her constituency took too long. It had been covered in cladding also, she says.

Councils need staff and resources to be on the back of contractors, she said.

"Make those resources available" or "we are all culpable".

Visiting the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said that there were “questions on the sprinkler system, questions on the firebreaks, questions on why the cladding apparently burnt, questions on building control regulations, questions on the safety.”

Mr Corbyn said: “Some very hard questions have got to be asked and some very hard questions have got to be answered.”

He added: “The fire is not supposed to spread from one flat to another. It’s supposed to be contained. It wasn’t.”

During a visit to north Kensington earlier, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was confronted by a woman who told him to "give the authorities hell" over the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

He told BBC London political reporter Karl Mercer he wanted the "strongest possible investigation into the disaster".

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Southwark Council leader Peter John said if borrowing restrictions were eased, councils could do "far more".

He said: "It is absolutely right. You do not hear of tragedies like this happening in private blocks and it is a scandal. It is an absolute scandal that it only seems to happen in public housing and social housing. It's just not right."

The London borough of Southwark was home to the deadly Lakanal House fire in 2009, which killed six people.

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Labour's Peter John, leader of Southwark Council - where a deadly tower block fire occurred in 2009 - was asked about whether sprinklers had since been installed in all the council's tower blocks - they haven't been.

Mr John said £62m had been spent improving fire safety across the council's housing stock but said while they had looked "carefully" at fitting sprinklers to all its older buildings, the government had not given councils "a blank cheque to carry out these works".

He added: "Maybe the government at last will think about increasing councils' powers to borrow against its housing revenue account."

There were borrowing caps on what could be spent on works on existing properties, he said.

"Most councils like ours are up near the top of our limit on what we can borrow. We can't just embark on spending tens of millions of pounds without something else... falling back."

MPs are questioning Fire Minister Nick Hurd in Westminster Hall - the Commons' secondary chamber - about the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

MPs would normally expect to hear a ministerial statement on a tragedy of this scale in the House of Commons, but this is not possible because Parliament has not yet formally reopened following the snap election.

Today's session is a specially arranged event.

Mr Hurd has told MPs it is key that more time is given for identification of bodies and the cause of fire has not been established.

The investigation is likely to take "many months", he says.

The prime minister's announcement that there would be a public inquiry came just before a demand for one by London's mayor Sadiq Khan

He said: "In light of concerns about the safety of other tower blocks that have been similarly refurbished, the inquiry needs to produce an interim report by the end of this summer at the latest."

The prime minister has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Wales' first minister Carwyn Jones unveils a blueprint for an overhaul of relations between the UK nations after Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has cancelled his annual Mansion House address to City leaders following the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

In a statement released on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, Mr Hammond said: "In view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with the local community."

The chancellor was set to use his speech to reassure businesses they would still have access to investment funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) after Brexit.

Theresa May says the government will make "every effort" to ensure Grenfell Tower residents are rehoused in London and as close as possible to home.

Theresa May, who has announced a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster, said: "We need to know what happened, we need to have an explanation of this - we owe that to the families, the people who have lost loved ones, friends and the homes in which they lived."

The PM said she been "overwhelmed" by the professionalism and bravery of the emergency services dealing with the blaze, which she confirmed has so far has claimed 17 lives, adding that they have been "working tirelessly in horrific conditions".

The PM, who visited the site earlier, said she had "heard stories of firefighters running into the building being protected from debris by police officers using their riot shields".

"At times like this the response of the community has been extraordinary."

She has ordered the cross-government group that is meeting today to ensure the response is properly coordinated to provide every assistance necessary to emergency services.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says "some very hard questions must be answered" in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Speaking after a visit to the site, he told reporters:

Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

After visiting emergency teams at the scene of the blaze in west London, Mrs May said a proper public investigation was needed to establish what happened.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street shortly after her return from the site, she said:

Reuters have reported Chancellor Philip Hammond as saying: "In view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with the local community."

Chancellor Philip Hammond will not deliver his Mansion House speech today due to the tower block disaster, Reuters has reported.

Theresa May says the public inquiry is needed to ensure "this terrible tragedy is properly investigated".

Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Former ministers Sir Ed Davey and Norman Lamb are expected to contest the Liberal Democrat leadership following the resignation of Tim Farron.

Ex-business secretary Sir Vince Cable might take over on a temporary basis, the BBC's Norman Smith said.

Another former minister, Jo Swinson, is the bookies' favourite.

Mr Farron quit on Wednesday saying he could no longer reconcile his strong Christian faith with his leadership of a liberal party.

Former deputy leader Sir Simon Hughes said his comments were "brave".

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Here is a full rundown of the potential runners and riders for the Lib Dem leadership.

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More from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is visiting those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Volunteers and community leaders have set up a refuge centre at St Clements Church.

As they showed Mr Corbyn donations that have been pouring in since the disaster, he told them: "It's great that you're in place."

When asked about an investigation into the circumstances of the fire, he replied: