THE safety protocol which encouraged residents to “stay put” inside the burning Grenfell Tower was ditched nearly two hours after the blaze took hold, it has been claimed.

Many victims had their fate sealed by heeding the building’s policy to remain in their flats in the event of a fire as the 24-storey building turned into a pyre on June 14, on the basis that the individual units were designed to withstand any threat to life.

But the BBC said residents were subsequently told to overrule the advice – if they could – and try to leave the burning building as fire crews struggled to reach the most vulnerable.

It reported that the fire brigade’s message to stricken residents changed at 2.47am on the night of the fire, 1 hour and 53 minutes after the first 999 call. That initial advice is one of the strands of the police investigation into the disaster.

The claims come as London mayor Sadiq Khan prepares to appear before the London Assembly today (Thursday) to tell members what lessons have been learnt from the tragedy.

On Wednesday, hundreds of mourners gathered at a wall plastered in tributes in the west London neighbourhood to mark four weeks since the blaze.

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