UK leader faces demand to replace council after fire

Prime Minister Theresa May is facing demands that she appoint commissioners to run the local government blamed for mishandling the response to a high-rise apartment fire that killed at least 80 people.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan asked May late Friday to take the unusual step because he says the elected Kensington and Chelsea Council has "lost the trust of local residents."

Khan said in a letter to May that while the borough council's leader and deputy leader have resigned, choosing new leadership from the existing members may aggravate the situation.

Khan says the government must appoint "untainted" commissioners with "a genuine empathy for local people."

The appointments would be unusual. Commissioners were brought in to run the Tower Hamlets Council in 2014, but that was because of concerns about how it handled public money.