First shock. Then grief, and now anger. As details of the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower fire continues to become clear, residents are demanding answers from Prime Minister Theresa May, and Westminster’s political establishment.

A public inquiry into the incident has been ordered by the PM, with £5 million committed to help victims. However, the anguish of affected locals has morphed into protests against Mrs May’s government and a wider commentary on the treatment of London’s disadvantaged communities.

Whilst the strength of the local community and resilience of local fire services are to be commended, the Grenfell Tower incident is now forcing many issues into the light. Not least, is the revelation that a residents’ group, Grenfell Action Group, had tried to seek legal advice in relation to structural issues of the block, but were unable to due to legal aid cuts administered by the government.

During the coalition government’s spate of cuts, funding for free legal support was severely reduced, which includes cases on issues including housing. This brings the long lasting effect that legal aid cuts can have on the UK’s disadvantaged communities into sharp focus, effectively excluding citizens from access to justice.

Allegations that the Kensington & Chelsea council threatened to bring legal action against bloggers of the group, who had voiced concerns about fire safety, further compounds the notion that the residents of Grenfell Tower had few means of expressing concerns about their living standards.

With Theresa May’s failure to meet local residents during a private visit of the site, and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s calls to requisition empty homes in Kensington and Chelsea, the political fallout over the incident seems set to last for quite some time.

The facts surrounding the incident are yet to be fully established. Yet there is a common thread of speculation; that there is a human culpability to this tragic event, and the truth must come out.