Grenfell: Decades of Failure

THE devastating Grenfell Tower fire was the result of “decades of failure” by central government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings, a long-awaited report has found.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.

He called out “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire-safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.

The fire, which took place in 2017, killed 72 people. The 1700-page final report found that the victims of the fire were dead or unconscious before the flames reached them.

The report laid out how those in positions of responsibility had not heeded or acted on warnings from earlier fires.

Moore-Bick said: “We conclude that the fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry to look carefully into the danger of incorporating combustible materials into the external walls of high-rise residential buildings and to act on the information available to them.”

The report added that by 2016, a year before the Grenfell fire, the government was “well aware” of the risks of using combustible cladding panels and insulation, particularly in high-rise buildings, “but failed to act on what it knew”.

Grenfell United, which represents some of the bereaved and survivors of the fire, said the report “speaks to a lack of competence, understanding and a fundamental failure to perform the most basic of duties of care” and demanded that some of the construction firms involved should be banned from government contracts.

But it added that while the final publication is a “significant chapter” in the years since the fire, “justice has not been delivered,” saying police and prosecutors must “ensure that those who are truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice”.

The Metropolitan Police said it “operates under a different legal framework and so we cannot simply use the report’s findings as evidence to bring charges”.

Met deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said the force had “one chance to get our investigation right”.

He warned that it would take up to 18 months to go through the report “line by line”.

‘What happened was, as each of them would have it, someone else’s fault’

Throughout the inquiry, construction companies have pointed the blame at each other.

Richard Miller, the inquiry’s lawyer, said in his opening address at the second stage of the inquiry: “What happened was, as each of them would have it, someone else’s fault.”

Cladding firm Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex faced particularly heavy criticism in the report.

Arconic was found to have “deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger” of using its cladding product, particularly on high-rise buildings.

Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, “knowingly created a false market in insulation” for use on buildings over 18 metres, the report said.

Celotex then, in an attempt to break into this market created by Kingspan, “embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market”, Moore-Bick added.

The report set out 58 recommendations, concluding that the construction industry had become “too complex and fragmented”.

‘Scotland is not complacent’

Scottish Government Housing Minister Paul McLennan (below) said: “The tragic Grenfell Tower fire emphasised how important building and fire safety is. Keeping residents and homeowners safe is our priority and we are taking action to protect lives by ensuring the assessment and remediation of buildings with potentially unsafe cladding.

“We will carefully consider all of the recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s report. Yesterday I met with UK Government ministers to discuss how we can work collaboratively to take the appropriate actions to deliver the Inquiry’s recommendations and ensure residents and homeowners in Scotland are kept safe.”

McLennan said that whilst Scotland already has “stringent” safety regulations in place, “we are not complacent”.

“Where immediate action is needed to safeguard people we will ensure appropriate actions are taken to manage risks, pending longer-term remediation works,” he said.

“Subject to the devolution of the necessary powers, we will establish a Building Safety Levy in Scotland, equivalent to a Levy that will be introduced by the UK Government in England. The Levy will provide vital revenues to support the funding of our Cladding Remediation Programme.”

Scottish Greens justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman said:

“This is a sobering report which shows what we all knew, the UK Government has failed in its basic duty of care and has put the interests of corporations ahead of the lives of people tragically killed in this disaster.

“Justice for those who lost their lives has not been delivered. The calculated dishonesty and greed shown by corporations and governments has cost 54 adults and 18 children their lives.

“This tragedy has highlighted exactly why here in Scotland and across the UK we need regulations that genuinely keep people safe in high-rise buildings.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Government will “carefully consider” the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to “ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again”.

Starmer said:

“My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community. This day is for them.

“I hope that Sir Martin’s report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is a step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”

In a further statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Starmer said the Government would write to all companies found by the inquiry to be part of the “horrific failings” at Grenfell Tower “as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts”.

Those affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster were “let down very badly before, during and in the aftermath of the tragedy”, Starmer said as he offered them an apology on behalf of the British state.

Source: The National