Grenfell Tower inquiry: Lord Pickles apologises for death toll error

Former Cabinet minister Lord Pickles has apologised for getting the number of people who died in the Grenfell Tower fire wrong while giving evidence to the inquiry into the disaster.

Lord Pickles spoke last week of "the nameless 96 people who were killed".

But 72 people died in the west-London fire in 2017, all of whom have been named.

In an email to the inquiry, the former housing secretary said he "misspoke".

While preparing for the inquiry, he said his "mind was also on other tragedies", including the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

"In my final remarks I misspoke and referenced the 96 people that died in and immediately after Hillsborough," he said.

"I apologise to the family and friends of the 72 people who died at Grenfell for this unintended mistake, which was unscripted.

"The dead are remembered not as a statistic but with dignity by their families, survivors and all of us."

For many years, the number 96 was associated with the number of victims who died following the Hillsborough stadium tragedy, although a 97th name was officially added to the death toll last year.

The Grenfell United campaign group, which represents many bereaved, survivors and residents, said at the time Lord Pickles' "disrespect" had left members speechless.

In his second day giving evidence, Lord Pickles appeared to suggest the inquiry's senior counsel should speed up as he had meetings planned for the afternoon.

He later apologised for being "discourteous" and said he had decided to cancel his meetings because "this is more important than anything I'm doing".

Elsewhere, he said he took full responsibility for any failures in the housing department, which he led in the years of the Cameron coalition government between 2010 and 2015.