Grenfell inquiry and care home deaths

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What caused the fire to start and spread? Are the safety regulations in place good enough? Were the actions of Kensington and Chelsea Council adequate before and after the disaster, which killed at least 80 people? These are some of the questions the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which opens today, will be asking.

The head of the investigation, judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick, will give a statement to former residents and victims of the fire later. An interim report is expected to be published by next Easter. Some relatives of those killed in June’s fire have questioned Sir Martin’s suitability for the role, with one Labour MP labelling him a “technocrat”. But he has promised a “very broad” inquiry, which will “go right back to the construction of the tower” in the 1970s.

The prime minister is flying to the Italian city of Florence on Friday next week to give a speech seen as an attempt to break the inertia dogging Brexit talks. Coming three days before the next round of discussions starts, Theresa May’s address will emphasise the UK’s desire for a “special partnership” to continue with member states after it leaves the European Union in 2019. Each side has so far been critical of the other’s attitude during negotiations in Brussels.

By Rory Cellan-Jones, technology correspondent

Millions of people in the UK are being given a lesson in how powerless they are when their data is shared around the world by companies that appear to have no interest in answering questions.

Several newspapers lead on reports of an intruder at the school Prince George has recently started attending in London. Metro says security measures have been reviewed after a woman was arrested on suspicion of burglary at Thomas’s Battersea while lessons were happening. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph says the speech in which European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the UK would “regret Brexit” amounts to a “blueprint” for a “United States of Europe”. And the Daily Mail tells its readers that UK overseas territories ravaged by Hurricane Irma cannot use a £13bn foreign aid budget because they are “too wealthy”.

10:00 Global ticket sales for next year’s World Cup in Russia go on sale online.

12:00 The Bank of England announces its latest interest rates decision.

22:00 The winner of the Mercury Music Prize for the best album from the UK and Ireland is named. Nominees include Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Kate Tempest.

1982 Princess Grace of Monaco – formerly the film actress Grace Kelly – dies of injuries sustained in a car crash in Monte Carlo.