UK Grenfell fire inquiry chair says all deaths were avoidable

LONDON (Reuters) - The chair of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people in 2017 said on Wednesday all the deaths were avoidable and added that the victims had been badly failed.

"The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable, and those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of the building and its occupants," chair Martin Moore-Bick said.

(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the name of the chair of the inquiry, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Michael Holden and William James, writing by Sarah Young, editing by Elizabeth Piper)