JenniferEccles Please only speak for yourself. I did not think the residents lacked common sense. I expect they assumed that trained fire officers knew what was the best thing to do. For heaven's sake if a senior officer thought that "staying put" was the right decision, why would you expect frightened and panicking people - some elderly, disabled or parents with babies and young children - to defy the instructions given to them by those who are trained to deal with fires? (and I am not criticising the many very brave fire officers who had to deal with this dreadful incident. But I do question the ability of a senior fire officer who seemed unable to realise that this was not a text book occurrence that could be dealt with by text book procedures but a situation that urgently required evacuation.)
The fact that Rees Mogg apologised is totally irrelevant. He thought what he thought and he said what he thought. It shows the kind of shallow, unfeeling character he is. Don't try and switch it round by saying those who object to his remark do so because of "class envy". I am a Labour supporter and if any Labour politician had said what Mogg said, I would think it terrible.
What is pathetic JenniferEccles is that someone feels because a person is "unfailingly polite and well-mannered" it justifies him making the most outrageous comments about a tragedy such as this. I like politeness and good manners as much as the next person but to strongly imply that people who have had the most terrifying and life-changing experience lacked "common sense" is to my mind far beyond rude - it lacks humanity. It's particularly gutless that he, and his supporters, try to squirm out of it by saying he was just reporting what some other person or persons had said.
The next part of the inquiry, looking not at how the fire was dealt with but at all the reasons why it became uncontrollable so quickly, is the one which will hopefully prevent such a tragedy happening again.
