Image source, Getty Images

The Mayor of London has called for an interim report into the Grenfell Tower fire to be published this summer.

Sadiq Khan said there were "questions that demand answers", adding: "We can't afford to wait many years for those answers."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits the site of the Grenfell tower fire.

Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy has provided an update on the identification of the Grenfell Tower victims.

He said of the 17 victims who are known to have died, six have been preliminary identified.

The absolute priority is recovery of anybody in the building but this can only happen when it is safe to do so, he added.

Mr Cundy said there was no suggestion the building will collapse but there were concerns over hazards in the building, with fires restarting.

"I really hope the number of fatalities does not reach triple figures," he said.

Mr Cundy said identifying the victims will be very challenging and they will use international disaster victim protocols which include dental records, fingerprints and DNA.

Image source, Atikul Hoque

The Begum family are among those missing following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Husna Begum, 22, lived with her two brothers Abdul Hamid 28, Abdul Hanif, 25, father father Komru Miah (89) and mother Rabiya Begum on the 17th floor.

Her cousin, Abdur Rahim, who lives close by in Kensington, told BBC Bangla that he got a phone call from her at 1:37am saying there was a fire and they were stuck inside.

He rushed to the tower-block, spoke on the phone asking them to flee.

“I saw Mr Miah at the window of his flat. He was screaming for help,” Mr Rahim said.

“Husna’s last words were the fire was engulfing our rooms, only the bathroom was spared, We are all going to die, please pray for us. I didn’t get any response from their phones after that."

Mr Rahim and his family have been searching in different hospitals for the missing family.

Image source, Atikul Hoque

A total of 30 people remain in hospital, 15 of whom are in critical care, says NHS England.

They are being treated in four hospitals across London - King's College, Chelsea and Westminster, Royal Free and St Mary's.

"The council isn't listening to us," says one resident. "We don't want a pretty building."

Rydon, the company which carried out the £8.6m refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, said it welcomed the announcement of the public inquiry into the incident.

It also praised the "tireless efforts and bravery of the emergency services who continue to deal with this tragic incident".

The company said it carried out a partial refurbishment of the building which "met all required building regulations as well as fire regulation and health & safety standards".

CEO Robert Bond said: "I am personally shocked and devastated by what has happened at Grenfell Tower and my thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected.

"We have been working with local authorities for nearly forty years and safety and quality are integral to everything we do at Rydon."

Kensington and Chelsea council has said 79 households have been placed in commercial hotels following the fire.

It said it has been receiving lots of offers of help and "will be trying to match people to accommodation in the coming days".

"We will be allocating households caseworkers who will develop personal housing plans.

"We will be prioritising them for rehousing. No-one has been rehoused permanently yet."

Six victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze have so far been provisionally identified but "there is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody", Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy has said.

The House of Commons library has just published a briefing note on fire safety in high-rise acommodation.

It explains the role of building regulations and the government's response to calls for these to be reviewed after another fatal fire, in south-east London in 2009.

Read it here, external

Image source, Getty Images

Local centres have been inundated with donations for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

The BBC's Tim Stokes has been down at the scene speaking to volunteers helping out.

Read the full story

Evening Standard

Image source, Reuters

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has urged people "not to rush to judgement" over the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Hailing the UK for having "some of the most rigorous fire safety regulations in the world", she stressed: "We need to establish how such a tragedy could have occurred in a major capital in the early 21st century."

Writing in the Evening Standard, external, she said: "Of course we need to know more about how this tragedy could have happened and there will be a full investigation.

"But at this early stage, with firefighters still picking their way through the debris, I would urge everyone not to rush to judgement. If there are lessons to be learned we will learn them."

She praised the bravery of the emergency services and conceded "these are challenging times" for Londoners, with "heartbreaking images of suffering" filling TV screens.

"My heart goes out to every person affected by this tragedy..." she said.

"We have to dig deep inside ourselves in order to keep going. But even in its darkest days, the spirit of London prevails."

Expressing her "deepest condolences" to those suffering "unimaginable grief", she writes that "history has shown us how strong London is".

"The shadow of this tragedy will stay with us forever — we will stay strong for everyone affected and not be afraid to ask vital questions to ensure this can never happen again."

Read more, external

Labour MP Harriet Harman has been speaking to the BBC after the Westminster Hall session earlier.

The former party deputy leader is an MP in the London borough of Southwark, where the 2009 Lakanal House fire killed six people.

She said tower blocks needed to be fitted with sprinklers and questions needed to be asked about whether refurbishing blocks could compromise fire safety - and whether the official "stay put" advice for people in burning buildings should be changed.

Of the public inquiry, she said:

She also said it was up to opposition parties to make sure the government "doesn't slip off the hook" in terms of providing resources to make sure buildings are safe.

Mr Alhajali was with his older brother, Omar, in the flat but lost each other on the way out, says the Syria Solidarity Campaign.

His brother was rescued by firefighters while Mr Alhajali went back upstairs.