The initial support offered to people affected by this week's devastating fire in west London "was not good enough," the Prime Minister has admitted.
Theresa May's comments come as police have confirmed that 58 people are either dead, or missing and presumed dead, as a result of the fire which ravaged Grenfell Tower in north Kensington. This figure is expected to rise, the BBC reports.
May was widely criticised this week for choosing not to meet victims of the blaze in their local community. Both the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the west London neighbourhood in the wake of the devastation to spend time with people affected by the fire. Officials claimed security concerns had prevented the Prime Minister from doing the same, but when the Queen and the Duke of Cambridge paid a visit to the Grenfell relief area yesterday, this excuse looked increasingly shaky.
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This afternoon, May met some of the people affected by the fire in Downing Street. Shortly afterwards, she released a statement. "The response of the emergency services, NHS and the community has been heroic," the Prime Minister said. "But, frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."
Explaining how she is now seeking to improve the victims' predicaments, the Prime Minister continued: "I can confirm that a £5million emergency fund that I announced yesterday is now being distributed on the ground so people can buy clothes, food and other essentials. If more funding is required, it will be provided."
May also said she has set a "deadline of three weeks" for everybody affected to be given a new home nearby. "I have ordered that more staff be deployed across the area, wearing high visibility clothing, so they can easily be found, dispense advice and ensure the right support is provided. Phone lines will have more staff," the Prime Minister added.
People from all over London have come together to support the north Kensington community as they try to deal with the fire's devastation. Find out how you can help here.