The bereaved families of the fire incident that killed 72 persons in the Grenfell Tower have been told the building would be demolished.

Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, is said to have met relatives and survivors on Wednesday evening and “announced the decision that the tower will have to be carefully deconstructed”, according to a spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin.

Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in London, England.

The tower which was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate, was mostly destroyed in a severe fire on 14 June 2017.

There were concerns over how many loved ones were spoken to before the new decision was taken.

Many of the affected families had kicked against demolition of the structure, insisting that criminal prosecutions should be completed over the failings that led to the fire.

It is almost a decade now and they are still waiting justice which has been described as “unbearable” by some.

“We’ve said this to every secretary of state for housing since the very beginning: consult the bereaved and survivors meaningfully before reaching a decision on the tower,” Grenfell United, which represents some of the survivors and bereaved families of the disaster, said on Wednesday.

“Angela Rayner could not give a reason for her decision to demolish the tower.”

A spokesperson for Angela Rayner said on Wednesday, “The priority for the deputy prime minister is to meet with and write to the bereaved, survivors and the immediate community to let them know her decision on the future of the Grenfell Tower.

“This is a deeply personal matter for all those affected, and the deputy prime minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this.”

The final report of the Grenfell Tower inquiry, published in September, concluded the disaster was the result of “decades of failure” by the government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms that made and sold the cladding and insulation, the inquiry chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, said.

The “simple truth” was that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were “badly failed” by authorities, Moore-Bick said. “In most cases through incompetence but, in some cases, through dishonesty and greed,” he added.

In May 2024, prosecutors and police said investigators would need until the end of 2025 to complete their inquiry.

24-storey Grenfell Tower where 72 people died to be demolished