Yesterday the bells at Westminster Abbey chimed at 4.43pm to mark 24 hours since the fire at Notre Dame cathedral began in Paris.
The act of solidarity with France was a considerate gesture by the London landmark and was confirmed on Twitter beforehand by Theresa May.
To underline our solidarity with France and her people, the bells at Westminster Abbey will toll at 5:43pm this eve… https://t.co/Z9VmII6uRy— Theresa May (@Theresa May) 1555428981
The prime minister said in a statement that the images from Notre Dame were 'truly heart-rending' and added that cathedrals and churches across England will pay similar tributes on Maundy Thursday.
Notre-Dame is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world – a symbol of France and the French people, and cherished across the globe. The images of destruction we saw last night were truly heart-rending.
To underline our solidarity with France and her people, the bells at Westminster Abbey will toll at 5:43pm this evening to mark the moment the fire began yesterday.
And later this week, on Maundy Thursday, bells will ring at cathedrals and churches across England.
President Macron has pledged to rebuild the cathedral and I have conveyed to him that the UK will support this endeavour however we can.
As we saw last night in the swift and heroic action of the first responders, France has huge professionalism in dealing with emergencies of this kind. I pay tribute to the firefighters and all those involved.
When it comes to the task of rebuilding, French craftsmen and women are among the finest in the world.
As they prepare to embark on this daunting task, we stand ready to offer any UK experience and expertise that could be helpful in the work that lies ahead to restore this magnificent cathedral.
Whilst no one would begrudge the UK showing their respect to France for the devastation that has left one of it's most famous landmarks in ruins. but thankfully caused no deaths, others have brought up one question: specifically about paying tribute and donating to buildings destroyed by fires.
Nearly two years after the horrendous fire that claimed 72 lives at Grenfell Tower in West London, little has been resolved about the disaster and gestures such as bells chiming at Westminster Abbey, although minor, are non-existent.
This was a resounding theme of comments in response to stories on Westminster Abbey and in the comments in reply to Theresa May's tweet.
Grenfell?¿ https://t.co/0yhnLTB7lo— black girls book club (@black girls book club) 1555430785
Done anything about the 72 people that died in Grenfell Tower yet? https://t.co/62E5CZd1Ho— Guffers (@Guffers) 1555357122
@theresa_may Building burnt. Sad. But nobody died. Unlike Grenfell.— Weiss ✌️🏴 #BDS 729 (@Weiss ✌️🏴 #BDS 729) 1555431584
@theresa_may I have attended mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral 3 times, so last night's fire broke my heart. Ringing… https://t.co/0boM16FaYq— Jacqueline Mellett (@Jacqueline Mellett) 1555445188
@theresa_may When will you show solidarity with people still suffering from #grenfell— Harpo (@Harpo) 1555444239
It’s sad no Billionaires stepped into help with Grenfell... We should never value objects (no matter how magnificent) over people.— William Adoasi (@William Adoasi) 1555401239
Do you remember Grenfell Tower and that victims still don't have compensation or anywhere permanent to live. Counci… https://t.co/Kw8zgSr4vD— Minnie Rahman (@Minnie Rahman) 1555430533
@SkyNewsBreak @SkyNews Funny, I don’t remember this being done after Grenfell when all those innocent people lost their lives. 🤔— Kate Parker (@Kate Parker) 1555426788
*cough* Grenfell *cough* https://t.co/cfRMQcoZ1l— Jake Hall (@Jake Hall) 1555428031
At the time of writing the British government has refused full police funding for an investigation into the Grenfell fire and around 100 families were reported to be without their own homes as of last Christmas.
As of March 2019, police said that charges for those responsible for the Grenfell fire are unlikely to occur before 2021.
Indy100 has contacted Downing Street for comment.