Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is under fire after he said in a radio interview that Grenfell Tower victims should have used their "common sense" and escaped from the burning building, ignoring the London Fire Brigade's advice to remain inside the tower block while it was ablaze.

Many of the relatives of the victims voiced their disbelief that the MP for North East Somerset could say something so "appalling and insensitive". One of the most vocal members of the Justice 4 Grenfell group, Karim Mussilhy, whose 57-year-old uncle fell victim to the fire, claimed that Rees-Mogg was an "idiot" and later rejected the politician's "profound apology", adding that the apology "is too late". She told the Guardian: "Sorry means nothing. It's such an easy word to say. Your action means something but we have had words and no action."

Stormzy, who has been a very active supporter of Justice 4 Grenfell, also stood by Karim Mussilhy through a series of tweets. "Bare of you politicians are evil and wicked and this is why we hate you," he said. "72 people died in a tragedy that you are to blame for… This ain't about politics, it's about the people who govern us lacking the most basic humanity or empathy. It's nuts to me."

Matt Wrack, from the London Fire Brigade Union, also commented on Rees-Mogg's comments, saying it was "callously irresponsible for a senior government figure to suggest the public should ignore firefighters when they are in a fire."

Fellow Tory Andrew Bridgen later doubled down during a heated interview with BBC Radio 4 presenter, Evan Davis, saying:

"That's what he [Rees-Mogg] meant to say, but in a way that is exactly what people object to, which is he is, in effect, saying: 'I wouldn't have died because I would have been cleverer than the people who took the fire brigade's advice. But we want very clever people running the country, don't we Evan? That's a byproduct of what Jacob is and that's why he is in a position of authority."

The fight for justice continues.