Grenfell United have called for Eric Pickles to be removed from the House of Lords and governmental roles after his comments at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Former Housing Secretary Pickles made a series of remarks at the Inquiry that angered the survivors and bereaved of the fire.

He hinted that he didn’t have time to answer questions and called the 72 that died in the fire “nameless” before getting the number wrong and saying 96 died.

In response, Grenfell United said: “Eric Pickles’ disrespect at the Inquiry has left us speechless. How dare he refer to our loved ones we lost that night as ‘the 96 nameless’. 72 people died in Grenfell and none of them were nameless.

“His utter disregard for what happened and to those no longer with us is horrifying, given that he had the ability as Minister of Housing to reform building safety.

“It was Eric Pickles’ responsibility to implement the Lakanal House Fire recommendations issued to Government, which specifically referenced dangerous cladding and the urgent need to review building regulations.

“Instead, he pushed the recommendations back to 2017 and by the time Grenfell Tower was alight, the guidance had not changed.

“Had he done his job, our experience on the 14th June might have been very different. Yet today, he told the Inquiry that he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

“The fire is described as the ‘perfect storm’ of institutions & companies acting with recklessness for human life, driven not by safety but profit.

“But Government is the puppeteer. They built this broken system, allowed it to prosper & then turned a blind eye when the industry grabbed its opportunity to manipulate it and profit.

“Eric Pickles knew, but did nothing to stop it. 72 innocent people paid with their lives.

“Today he showed the same indifference to public safety he’s always had. Eric Pickles must be removed from government and the House of Lords. Otherwise, government continues to show the contempt it’s always had for people’s safety in this country.”