§ Mr. Tilney (by Private Notice)asked the Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement concerning the fire which occurred in Henderson's store, Liverpool, on 22nd June, in which many people lost their lives.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Renton)The Liverpool Fire Brigade was called at about 2.20 p.m. on Wednesday to a fire which had broken out in the building. The fire was under control by 5.50 p.m. According to the latest information, 11 persons were killed, one through falling from a ledge of the building outside and the others inside the building. Preliminary reports indicate that the fire brigade tackled the fire promptly and efficiently.
I should like to express my sympathy with the relatives of those who lost their lives, and to pay tribute to the courage shown by members of the Fire Brigade and the public.
§ Mr. TilneyI should like to add my sympathy and that of my constituents to that expressed by my hon. and learned Friend the Joint Under-Secretary of State. I know that if other Merseyside Members on both sides of the House were able to be here they would also add their sympathy in respect of this terrible fire.
May I ask my hon. and learned Friend whether he will order an inquiry to be made into the various reported difficulties met by the fire services and, if so, whether that inquiry will cover the provision of fire escapes, the construction of staircases, the knowledge of fire orders and the frequency of fire drill among staffs?
May I also ask my hon. and learned Friend whether he will endeavour to ensure that the lessons of this tragedy are applied to other stores in the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. RentonMy right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has instructed Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services to carry out an investigation on the spot, and the Chief Inspector has already gone to Liverpool.
The inquest opens today. Before my right hon. Friend decides upon holding a statutory inquiry, he must await the report from the Chief Inspector and the result of the inquest. I have no doubt, however, that the matters to which my hon. Friend referred will be borne in mind by the Chief Inspector when he makes his report to my right hon. Friend.