Georgia Gould being taken to task by Shirley Phillips

THE pensioner who captured the anger over the flash evacuation of the Chalcots estate by confronting the council leader on TV news channels has made peace.

Footage of Shirley Phillips, 72, went viral on the internet as she was told to leave Taplow tower – her home since the blocks were built in 1969 – on Friday evening. Alongside her dog, Tilly, she sat on a chair outside the rest centre at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre refusing to take an airbed.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning, she was back on television screens demanding that council leader Georgia Gould do more to help tenants – and their pets. “I’ve sat in a chair over there since nine o’clock last night, I’m 72 years old, suffer with emphysema, and they can’t rehouse me because I’ve got a dog,” she said. “What do people want me to do with my dog? Put my dog to sleep?”

But last night (Saturday) evening, the New Journal tracked down Shirley to the nearby Britannia Hotel, where the council has put her and Tilly up for the next fortnight. This time, as our film clip shows, when she saw Cllr Gould there was a hug and words of thanks. Ms Phillips told us she was still desperate to go back to Taplow as soon as possible, adding: “I’ve always loved living there and I’ve never felt unsafe. I was just so angry because we weren’t getting enough information.”

Shirley Phillips confronts Georgia Gould on Sky News

The bill for hotels accommodation has already passed the £500,000 mark, while evacuated residents are being handed £100 payments each for food over the next two days.