Oscar-nominated movie 'Three Billboards' inspired a campaign demanding justice for a fire that killed 71 people in London

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Oscar-nominated movie 'Three Billboards' inspired a campaign demanding justice for a fire that killed 71 people in London

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  • An activist group demanding justice for the 71 people killed in a fire at London's Grenfell Tower in June have taken inspiration from the Oscar-nominated film "Three Billboards" in a campaign on Thursday. 
  • The group is seeking prosecutions for the fire, which police said in September could have been caused by a fridge-freezer malfunction.

 

An activist group in London, England, has taken inspiration from the Oscar-nominated film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" to pressure Parliament into finding a resolution to a fire that killed 71 people and injured 70 more at London's Grenfell Tower in June of last year.

The campaign's billboards, parked outside Parliament and various locations throughout London on Thursday, read, "71 DEAD," "AND STILL NO ARRESTS?," "HOW COME?" (In the film "Three Billboards," Frances McDormand's character puts up billboards in the same manner to pressure the Ebbing, Missouri police into finding her daughter's killer.)

British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the fire in July. The inquiry had its first hearings in September, and the latest development was a police statement in September that said the fire could have been caused by a fridge-freezer malfunction. 

But the "Three Billboards"-inspired campaign is seeking more concrete answers and "prosecutions" for the disaster.

Vice spoke to one of the campaign's organizers, Yvette Williams, who said the campaign is trying to keep the Grenfell fire in the public consciousness, partly as a referendum on "the state of public housing."

"We were told that even as the public inquiry is ongoing, there was going to be an interim report by Easter. Now that's not happening. We want the truth. We want prosecutions," Williams said. "People up and down the country need to feel safe in their homes. None of that is happening. We think they're playing with time, hoping that the story will be downplayed."