New Grenfell documentary poses fresh questions about role of London Fire Brigade

The head of the London Fire Brigade is facing renewed criticism in a documentary exploring whether systematic mistakes at the Grenfell Tower fire "let both residents and firefighters down".

Commissioner Dany Cotton has been accused by campaign group Grenfell United of “steadfastly refusing” to acknowledge any failures.

In the Channel 4 Dispatches show entitled Grenfell: Did The Fire Brigade Fail?, airing tonight, the brigade is accused of relying on a narrative about the June 2017 blaze being “unprecedented” to avoid being challenged over its failure to learn from previous fires.

Many believe that the brigade could have used recommendations made by the coroner for the Lakanal House fire deaths to save lives.

The programme also claims that up to 55 people died after being told to stay put by phone operators who had no real-time information about the fire.

Survivors of the fire, which killed 72 people, told Channel 4 that saving lives should have been a priority once it quickly became clear flames were racing up the block's exterior.

Grenfell United also said Ms Cotton needed to explain why families were allegedly ignored about the spread of the fire, a supposed lack of communication with 999 operators and why the Commissioner did not "take charge" when she arrived.

One employee, who spoke to Channel 4 anonymously, said there was insufficient training given about evacuating entire buildings and criticised Ms Cotton for telling the public inquiry preparing for Grenfell was akin to planning for a space shuttle landing on the Shard.

He told the programme: "It really annoyed me straight afterwards because everyone was ... 'this fire is unprecedented'.

“We had a lot of that. I think that's the narrative that they want you to think because that kind of suggests that no one's responsible.

"But the warning signs were there. We could have learnt these lessons. The stuff that the Coroner recommended from Lakanal House would have given Michael the tools he needed to recognise that that building was not acting how it should have acted. We could see this coming."

Southwark Council was ordered to pay £570,000 in relation to safety breaches after the Camberwell fire in 2009.

Three women and three children died in the inferno, which was caused by an electrical fault in a TV, and rapidly spread through the block.

Reacting to the documentary, Grenfell United said: "Firefighters saved lives but they were let down, just as we were, because their leaders failed to learn lessons from previous fires and to step up to make critical decisions on the night."

The group continued: "Dany Cotton has so far steadfastly refused to acknowledge any failures.

"That attitude must change if survivors and bereaved families are to rest knowing that everything will be done to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again."

An LFB spokeswoman said: "Our thoughts are with the Grenfell community. It's essential to understand what happened on the night.

"We are listening, we are learning and already making changes. We all need to learn about the cause and response to the fire to prevent such an incident happening again.

"We strongly believe drawing conclusions before the public inquiry, police investigation and our own investigation, could be prejudicial, which is why we could not take part in this programme.

"Our staff acted on what they faced that night and not on what we have learnt subsequently about why and how the fire spread with such devastating consequences."

Grenfell: Did the Fire Brigade Fail? Is on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm