Five years ago, Grenfell Tower went up in flames.
The images from that day in which 72 men, women and children died will forever live in the memory.
Within hours of the tragedy, the role played by the exterior cladding in spreading the fire at the tower started to be scrutinised.
Subsequent investigations have shown just how flammable the material used at Grenfell was – and that it should never have been used in the first place.
But five years down the line, it is questionable whether the lessons of Grenfell have properly been learned.
Tens of thousands of homes across the UK remain clad in a material whose deficiencies have been shown all too graphically.
The total cost to remedy that situation in Scotland has now been put at £1 billion, a figure which far exceeds the funding currently earmarked for the purpose.
But that money must be found and those repairs carried out within as short a timescale as possible.
The Grenfell disaster should never have happened, and we must make sure nothing like that ever happens anywhere again. That is why it is so important we have strict safety regulations around cladding.
Yesterday I asked the Cabinet Secretary about plans for Scotland 👇 pic.twitter.com/LlS3FO5DSo
— Marie McNair MSP (@MarieAMcNair) May 13, 2022
When it comes to people’s lives there can be no safety short cuts.
Grenfell cruelly demonstrated that fact and it would be a disservice to all those who died if another tragedy was not prevented because of a lack of focus, lack of funds or both.
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