Pete Mason message to the meeting today

Pete Mason one of the organisers of an event today today to get justice for those who have suffered as a result of a fire at Samuel Garside house in the estate he is the Residents Association Chair. Pete done great work to expose the short cuts which have contributed to the fire Experts had warned of fire risk at Barking apartment block

Experts had warned of fire risk at Barking apartment block Robert Booth Independent assessment in January said wooden balconies could accelerate spread of fire

Pete has sent this statement for me to read out and put on the blog and gives his apologies:

"On behalf of east London branch of the Socialist Party and in my capacity as chair of Barking Reach residents association,  I salute this meeting and the immensely hard work Andy and his team do to expose the half hidden plans to downgrade the King George accident and emergency unit into a type 2 A&E exclusively for the elderly and a type 3 urgent care centre

The Barking Reach  residents association invited Andy to address our meeting and we unanimously agreed to write to the heads of the NHS a letter of protest about these plans. The reply that we got  precisely ignored our concerns.

We wrote to Chris Bown, Interim Chief Executive of BHRUT, and Ceri Jacob, Managing Director at Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge Clinical Commissioning Group because the shocking Barking fire of Sunday 9 June brought home again how vital the accident and emergency service is to us. 

We witnessed a fire at Samuel Garside house which consumed 20 flats and drove out residents of 79 homes. The fire swept through the block in seven minutes or so,  residents escaping with nothing but the clothes on their back, carrying their children amidst terrified screams,  an experience which has traumatized many. 

It was a miracle no one lost their lives or was seriously injured. If it had not been for the swift action of residents,  or if the fire had happened at the back of the flats where the cladding is not interrupted by stairwells,  the ten fire engines which attended the fire would have been swamped by ambulances ferrying burns injuries to hospital.

We need an accident and emergency unit in king George which is open to all. The entirely private Barking Riverside estate has suffered as a result of privatisation, and both the Socialist Party and the residents association oppose the privatisation of the NHS.  I say,  renationalise the NHS, bringing all privatized services into public ownership with compensation only to those who can prove need, and place its management back into the hands of the doctors and nurses that have the medical knowledge to run an NHS in the interests of the 99% and not for profit."