Of course no one was blaming Londoners. And in the same way no one was blaming New Yorkers in that other thread. I've just had another read through of it, and I just couldn't find posts doing that. Perhaps they were there and have been removed by clones, but I don't think so. (Have a look if you think I'm wrong, though it's a longish thread..)
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I quite agree with eanjay's point that the authorities seem to have slipped up badly in failing to respond to the complaint about the smell. It's the kind of thing that happens when councils cut back on providing proper caretaking services and so forth.

I can remember when every block of flats in Harlow had a resident caretaker, and there was an adequate an more than adequate system of visiting wardens for elderly people living alone. Those kind of things got cut to the bone under Thatcher as the local tax system was changed - and they never got reinstated under New Labour.

Yes, of course we need to be good neighbours, and there are things about the way we live, especially in big cities, that can make that harder - but there is a limit to what even good neighbours can do when essential services have been chopped to pieces.