A wall that showed the handprints of Grenfell Tower victims who were trapped in the building as the fire raged has been destroyed.
Relatives of the 72 people who died in the 2017 blaze in North Kensington, west London, made the disturbing discovery of the wall, between the 12th and 14th floors, during pre-demolition visits to the building in July last year.
A powerful photograph of the stairwell shows the space completely blackened with smoke – and marked with prints of all different sizes.
The victims’ families had urged the Government to save these parts of the building from being destroyed.
But they were preparing to take Housing Secretary Steve Reed to court over the demolition after claims that Angela Rayner promised the wall would not be destroyed when she ran the department.
Relatives have said the Government went back on its promise.
The vicious blaze tore through the 24-storey social housing block in North Kensington, west London, on June 14, 2017, killing 72 people.
The tragedy sparked national outrage, as highly flammable exterior cladding was found to have caused the quick spread of flames from an electrical fault.
Pictured: The handprints of Grenfell Tower victims on the wall, which has now been demolished
The vicious blaze tore through the 24-storey social housing block in North Kensington, west London, on June 14, 2017, killing 72 people
The Grenfell Inquiry began in earnest in September 2017, with the final report published in February 2025, before demolition began that September.
Another part of the tower has also been destroyed, on the stairwell between the 17th and 18th floor, where the words Allahu Akbar – which means ‘God is Greater’ – were written.
An official said no sections above the ninth floor could be kept, citing concerns about the sensitivity of the upper levels and the lives lost.
Both the handprints and the inscription are located above this level.
The Arabic writing has already been destroyed – but bereaved relatives are now fighting to preserve the handprints.
Damel Carayol, who lost members of his family in the blaze, told The Telegraph: ‘The obvious thing is that these inscriptions and handprints are relics, reminiscent of hieroglyphics and remains from traumatic historical happenings.
‘The meanings and symbolisms of whoever made them would have been their last hopeful messages to the living world as they felt for sure that their time had come. And these messages to us speak for everyone whose lives were taken at Grenfell.’
He added that the ‘disregard’ for the victims and their families was ‘inhumane’.
The Grenfell Inquiry began in earnest in September 2017, with the final report published in February 2025, before demolition began that September. Pictured: The covered remains of Grenfell Tower, in January this year
But during pre-demolition visits, families of victims discovered sections of walls bearing handprints from those who were trapped inside during the fire Pictured: A makeshift memorial, bearing messages from well-wishers, on a wall near the covered remains of the tower block
The Government previously told the Khalloufi family, who lost 52-year-old Khadija in the fire, in a letter that the wall would not be destroyed.
Demolitions were being carried out floor by floor, the Government’s legal department said, but that these had paused ‘pending our response’ to the letter sent to the Khalloufi family.
However The Telegraph reports the wall has already been destroyed following a virtual site visit by demolition staff.
In response to the demolition of the wall which showed the handprints of the fire’s victims, Karim Khalloufi, Khadija’s sister, said the ‘real memorial’ had been destroyed.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the newspaper: ‘We are committed to ensuring what happened at the Tower is remembered, with the community’s voice at the heart of our work.
‘We remain fully committed to handling elements of the Tower with the utmost care, sensitivity and respect.’