Show Me the Bodies

The truth about Grenfell at long last.

It is hardly possible to admit it. That the biggest tower block fire in UK history was preventable. The government had been warned for years that the building materials were not fire safe. Up until 14 June 2017, ministers' response had always been: ‘Show me the bodies.’

Award-winning journalist Peter Apps weaves poignant survivor testimony with the detailed decision-making that led to that fateful night. In bringing the unfolding tragedy to life, he exposes exactly where things have gone wrong with social housing so that it can never happen again.

As news editor of Inside Housing, Peter Apps uncovered the dangers of combustible cladding in an article thirty-four days before the Grenfell fire entitled, 'A Stark Warning'. Since then, he has picked up multiple national awards for his reporting, including being named Journalist of the Year and News Provider of the Year at the British Journalism Awards. In 2018, he was asked to give an address to the Orwell Prize ceremony about his work, and in 2019 he was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for journalism.