Show Me the Bodies: WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023

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A devastating look at the numerous failures that contributed to the Grenfell tower fire in 2017 that caused the death of many residents, including the elderly, the disabled, babies, young children and family pets. Over the course of a four-year inquiry, now finally in its closing stages, survivors and the bereaved have learned a new language of figures and acronyms relating to 30 years of neglect: three decades of political and corporate choices that took more London lives in any single event since the Blitz. The night after finishing Show Me the Bodies, I woke from a terrible nightmare about rooms in my flat growing dark and taking people from me.

Early on in the book, Apps quotes one of the lawyers for the victims and survivors of the disaster: “Grenfell is a lens through which to see how we are governed. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. At the same time, insulation standards were progressively raised as a response to the climate crisis, which created a lucrative market for whichever companies could wrap cold old tower blocks most effectively (thermally speaking) and most cheaply. This is the story of the people who escaped and of those who died, but also, why this happened, why it didn't have to and shouldn't have, how campaigners were ignored and how the government really does value business and profit over the lives of the poor, the working classes and the disadvantaged.Interwoven with this is the story of how the fire unfolded on the night which reveals the true horror of the disaster and brings in the personal stories of Grenfell residents. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. The scandal of the cladding of other blocks, which has ruined countless lives with impossible costs and unending stress, continues.

A crime commited through active decisions made by political, social and business leaders that leads to the deaths of others. We’re not ‘clean’,” Claude Wehrle, its technical manager, told a colleague when pressed for the necessary fire certificate. She is also a single mum, who lives with her father and her young son, and has trouble balancing her work and home life, as is the case with most female police officers on TV. The bereaved and survivors of Grenfell continue to fight for the removal of ACM cladding from other high rise blocks of flats.

This structure brilliantly brings what could have been a very dry and technical analysis constantly back into the context of the harrowing human cost of the decisions. But this is a small note in what was an incredible book anyone looking to work in lobbying, for a construction company, or in politics, should read. Perhaps the most powerful takeaway is the critical importance of what we do to the lives of people who will use our buildings.