I DON’T believe it is too early to state that the north Kensington Grenfell Tower disaster will be seared into the British consciousness for ever (“Twelve dead as tower block inferno prompts major probe”, The Herald, June 15). Its resonances are already reminiscent of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. On that occasion, it was considered unnecessary to provide passengers and crew with a sufficient number of lifeboats because the ship was deemed to be unsinkable. Here, we had a 24-storey building with a single stairwell, as well as a “stay put” policy in the event of a fire, because it was thought any fire would be isolated; a general conflagration was deemed impossible. The occupants knew otherwise; they’ve been complaining for months if not years.

There are other parallels. The Titanic disaster still resonates because it seemed to augur the end of an era as the lights went out over Europe and hostilities commenced in 1914. The Titanic juxtaposed extreme poverty with extreme wealth, just as north Kensington does. In James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic the lower orders were forcibly contained below decks while the ship was sinking. This acquiescence to being herded, to do as you are told, runs very deep in the British psyche.

What happened on the Titanic took a long time to come to light. Here, the BBC appears to be providing 24-hour coverage but in fact it is tight-lipped. The number of people present in Grenfell Tower on Tuesday night will be to a close approximation known, and the number of people presently accounted for will be known. It is a simple piece of arithmetic and yet nobody wants to go there. It’s another profoundly British trait; the public can’t be trusted to cope with the information and its built-in uncertainty.

I’m not surprised the State Opening of Parliament is now going to be a rather low-key affair. All that pomp and circumstance would have been not only distasteful, but irrelevant. Just like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Dr Hamish Maclaren,

1 Grays Loan, Thornhill, Stirling.

THE statement by Tom Barclay, director of property and development of Wheatley Group, which oversees Glasgow Housing Association property that “the materials used in our multi-storey investment programme meet all building standards and regulations" is no doubt correct (“Scottish councils pledge to carry out safety checks on multi-storey buildings”, The Herald, June 15). However that is not what people wish to know, relevant though that is.

The question they wish answered is, does the cladding burn? A simple yes or no will suffice, not a quote of various rules, regulations, and technical specifications. Does it burn? Can it be set alight? Will it go on fire?

George Smith,

21 Birny Hill Court, Clydebank.