"It just seems the common sense thing to do."
Leader of the House of Commons and high-profile Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has come under scrutiny for remarks made about the victims of the Grenfell fire.
Dozens of people died in the June 2017 apartment building fire in London, and a
report issued last week placed much of the responsibility on directions issued by firefighters at the scene.
The fire was further exacerbated by flammable cladding on the property, which allowed the fire to race up the building.
Addressing the report while speaking to LBC radio host Nick Ferrari, Rees-Mogg said:
"I think if either of us were in a fire, whatever the fire brigade said, we would leave the burning building.
"It just seems the common sense thing to do. And it is such a tragedy that that didn’t happen."
The MP immediately came under pressure from survivors of the fire and opposition politicians to apologise for his comments.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also called on Rees-Mogg to apologise, saying:
"What possesses someone to react to an entirely avoidable tragedy like Grenfell by saying the victims lacked common sense?
"People were terrified, many died trying to escape. Jacob Rees-Mogg must apologise for these crass and insensitive comments immediately."
