The annual Mansion House dinner in the City of London has been cancelled because of the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Chancellor Philip Hammond had already pulled out of the event, saying his thoughts were with the local community.

A statement from the organisers - the City of London Corporation - said: "In the light of the tragedy at Grenfell Tower we are cancelling tonight's Mansion House dinner.

"Our thoughts are focused with the victims and their families and friends."

David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, fears his friend - who lived on the 20th floor of the tower block - died in the blaze.

He has taken to the floor during the House of Commons to demand a criminal investigation.

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".

A briefing is taking place in the House of Commons about the Grenfell Tower fire - but is not being broadcast.

BBC political correspondent Vicki Young is watching proceedings.

Image source, PA

The fire in Grenfell Tower is leading local governments to carry out safety reviews on their own flats.

Councils in London are examining their tower blocks, including Redbridge Council, external in east London and Camden Council, external in north London.

Other cities across the country are following suit - Nottingham City Homes confirmed it is reviewing procedures at the tower blocks they run, East Kent Housing is examining its flats, external in Herne Bay and Whitstable, and high rises in Brighton could have sprinklers installed, external to prevent another tragedy.

Nicola Sturgeon also confirmed that a ministerial group will review regulations in Scotland following the blaze.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Assistant political editor, Norman Smith, said the inquiry, announced by Theresa May within the last half an hour, will see public testimonies that may be "difficult to hear".

"I suspect that [an inquiry] was probably inevitable, given the scale of the loss of life, the indignation that this could happen in one of the richest cities in the world and also the clear sense of anger that was beginning to emerge about the way officialdom was seen to have ignored the seemingly repeated warnings from tenants about the fire risks.

"We will now get an inquiry which, if it follows the course of previous inquiries, may well be headed by a judge. It will almost certainly hold its evidence sessions in public and those who will give evidence will include the local council, the builders, the contractors but yes too, I suspect the tenants and the relatives of some of the victims.

"That of course will be difficult testimony to hear. The hope would be finally to come up with a coherent and binding set of recommendations to ensure that such mistakes are not made again, but also to reassure tenants in existing tower blocks and to set a template for future fire safety."

BBC Radio London

The singer is filmed visiting the area near to Grenfell Tower, which was destroyed by fire.

The Health and Safety Executive has sent out a statement on the Grenfell Tower fire.

A spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this incident.

"HSE has supported the cross-government response and remains available to assist the emergency services, whose work to recover those who lost their lives clearly takes precedence."

Theresa May has announced a full inquiry into the blaze at Grenfell Tower.

She added: "We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation.

"We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived.

"That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened."

Image source, Getty Images

London's mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a new statement reiterating calls for a thorough, independent investigation.

Shortly after the statement was published, Theresa May confirmed that a full inquiry would take place.

Here is the mayor's statement in full:

“The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that tragically 17 people are now known to have died in the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower.

"Sadly this figure is likely to rise, and my thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected.

“Today the fire has been brought under control and the fire brigade and our other emergency services are continuing to work heroically. The operation is now shifting from the search and rescue phase to the recovery phase.

“Under these circumstances the full scale of the tragedy is becoming clear and there are pressing questions, which demand urgent answers.

“That is why I am demanding a full, independent public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower.

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."

Mrs May said the public inquiry was needed to ensure "this terrible tragedy is properly investigated".

Natasha Green is looking for her daughter's friend, 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez.

She said: "You can't believe in this day and age this could happen and people are angry. The locals are angry, this could've been prevented, life doesn't need to be lost and they're lost and people are looking for their children. It's unfair.

"This shouldn't have happened. This is 2017, this is Notting Hill, and this shouldn't have happened.

"People cut corners. They were told and they didn't do anything because they didn't listen to residents, because they're not of a certain class or they don't have enough money.

"And this is the devastating result, people have had to lose their lives."

Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire

J S Wright - one of the companies involved in the Grenfell Tower renovation last year - has issued a statement: