WHEN Grenfell happened, I was a reporter on The Daily Mail Online. I spent the days after the tragedy at the foot of the smouldering tower block speaking to grief-stricken victims and witnesses who were struggling to cope with the horrors they had seen and a catastrophe that felt immediately avoidable.

Grenfell did not have a local newspaper covering its doorstep. Had an inquisitive and persistent local journalist taken one look at the residents’ blog, set up to detail a number of safety failings, a story might have stopped a tragedy in its tracks by pushing the authorities into action.

We will never know.

There are many lessons to be learnt from Grenfell and not being silent on safety concerns, such as the worries at Crown Heights, is one of them.

Katie French, Editor