Theresa May will attend the Grenfell Tower memorial service this week despite Tory councillors from the area being told to stay away.
The Prime Minister was booed and heckled by some residents when she visited the scene of the disaster as locals lashed out at authorities over the fire.
But Mrs May and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will be at the service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Thursday, six months from when the blaze killed 71 in the west London tower block.
Theresa May will attend the Grenfell Tower memorial service despite local Conservative councillors being told to stay away
Her appearance comes despite Conservative councillors from Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council being told to stay away.
The local authority came in for fierce criticism and was the scene of large protests in the days after the fire on June 14.
The council said it had advised all members to stay away and is holding a minute’s silence at the town hall instead.
But despite their advice, Labour members of the council are attending the service, The Daily Telegraph has reported.
Council leader Elizabeth Campbell said: ‘The service isn’t about me and it isn’t about politics, 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.’
Victims’ families, including Nicholas Burton (left), Sandra Ruiz (second right) and Karim Mussilhy (right), today delivered a petition to Number 10 demanding an independent panel is brought in to oversee the public inquiry into the disaster
A total of 71 people died after hundreds lost their homes in the fire on June 14 this year
News of Mrs May’s planned attendance got a tepid reception from relatives of the victims as they visited Downing Street.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the fire on June 14, told the Press Association he would not ‘unwelcome’ the Prime Minister.
A petition addressed directly to the Conservative leader was dropped off at Number 10 on Tuesday afternoon by those touched by the tragedy.
Kensingont council leader Elizabeth Campbell has advised her colleagues to stay away from the service
It called for her to use powers under the Inquiries Act 2005 to make the public inquiry into the disaster panel-led, rather than relying on one judge.
Sandra Ruiz, who lost her niece in the blaze, said: ‘I would find that very difficult – for her to come and shake our hands without the announcement of a panel.
‘Obviously we will welcome her, but she will have to come and face us and we will be asking those questions of her. It’s not much to ask.’
Feelings have been running high over the format of the inquiry, with survivors and bereaved families voicing concern that chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick is out of touch.
It is hoped that a panel of experts from a diverse range of backgrounds would better capture the cultural nuances of the Grenfell Tower neighbourhood.
Mr Mussilhy said: ‘I don’t unwelcome her. I understand that there will be people that will be upset that she’s attending, but she needs to be there. It would be worse if she didn’t come.’
His views were echoed by Nicholas Burton, a former 19th floor resident of the tower who has previously met the Prime Minister.
He said: ‘I would (welcome her), personally, I can’t talk about the bereaved families and other people but personally I think it’s an important issue and she stands for this country so she should be there.’
