Grenfell families urge UK government to preserve tower's walls bearing handprints

LONDON, Feb 26 - Family members of those who died in London's 2017 Grenfell Tower fire called on Thursday for the government to preserve sections of its stairwell walls bearing handprints they believe belong to victims or survivors. Read more at straitstimes.com.

LONDON, Feb 26 - Family members of those who died in London's 2017 Grenfell Tower fire called on Thursday for the government to preserve sections of its stairwell walls bearing handprints they believe belong to victims or survivors.

A fire ripped through the 24-storey social housing block in one of London's wealthiest areas early on June 14, 2017, killing 72 people. Deconstruction of the tower began in September last year and is expected to take two years.

A photograph shared with Reuters shows a smoke- and fire-blackened wall in a hallway on one of the floors, bearing at least three visible handprints. An Arabic inscription reading "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") was also found on a different floor. Handprints were also found in another stairwell.

"These sections on the walls in the stairwell hold the voices of that night - and we will not let them be erased, silenced, or this tragedy be sanitised," said Karim Khalloufi, who lost his sister in the fire.

The families have filed a pre-action letter to the government to try to bring a judicial review, where a judge would examine the lawfulness of a public body's decision or action.

They argue that former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had, in 2025, promised that parts of the tower could be preserved for a memorial if the community wanted it.