The leader of Kensington and Chelsea council will not attend a national memorial for victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy after families asked the local authority to stay away.
Elizabeth Campbell, who has been criticised for being ‘out of touch’ with the tower block’s residents, also revealed she was on a Caribbean holiday when the disaster unfolded.
She had been in Bermuda watching the America’s Cup yacht races with her husband when the devastating fire killed 71 people in the council-owned high-rise.
Mrs Campbell only took over as leader of Kensington and Chelsea council in July – weeks after the deadly blaze.
Elizabeth Campbell, the leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, will not attend a national memorial for victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy at the request of families
Mrs Campbell only took over as leader of Kensington and Chelsea council in July – weeks after the deadly blaze. She has been accused of being ‘out of touch’ with residents
But the admission is likely to prompt further criticism that she does not understand the needs of survivors or the bereaved families from the tower block.
She has faced repeated demands for her to resign since she took over, and said she will not go to this week’s national memorial service for those who died.
Mrs Campbell told The Sunday Times she understood public anger directed at the Conservative-run council, which has been accused of ignoring repeated warnings about fire safety at the tower.
But she questioned critics who portrayed her as ‘a rich Tory toff’, adding: ‘I think the whole thing about identity politics is completely ridiculous.’
Mrs Campbell, the daughter of a former Hong Kong tycoon, faced criticism earlier this year when she admitted she had not been inside high-rise tower blocks before the Grenfell fire.
She was previously the council’s cabinet member for family and children’s services, but resigned from the post a few months before the fire because she wanted to take time off with her husband, businessman Colin Campbell.
The couple were in Bermuda when the Grenfell tragedy made headlines around the world and Mrs Campbell said she did not hear about it for a day, but then returned to London immediately to help out.
Since taking over, Mrs Campbell has committed the wealthy council’s £274million cash reserves to helping victims of the fire, including £235million to a house-buying programme.
Mrs Campbell had been in Bermuda watching the America’s Cup yacht races with her husband when the devastating fire killed 71 people in the council-owned high-rise
She told The Sunday Times: ‘I’m there to do whatever I can, day by day, family by family. You can’t undo the past, but you can try and make the future a better place.’
Asked about criticism of the council by victims, she said they had the right to be angry.
She said: ‘I sat in a hotel with someone who lost their spouse and their two children and was on the phone with them while that was happening.
‘And I sat and wept with them, thinking, “Why is that person not stringing me up, crucifying me because I represent everything that has gone wrong?’
Families asked the council not to send representatives to the national memorial service due to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Thursday, which is due to be attended by senior members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, William and Harry.
Mrs Campbell said: ‘It’s hugely sensitive and I don’t want to impose myself in any way.’
She added: ‘The service isn’t about me, it’s for the people who lost everything on that terrible night six months ago, and it is in memory of those who tragically lost their lives. It is only right that we respect the wishes of those involved.’
Thursday’s service has been timed to mark six months since the fire and a minute’s silence is due to be held on the day at the council’s offices in Kensington Town Hall.