Grenfell Tower Inferno
The story so far…
A Kensington and Chelsea planning document for the regeneration work on the Tower from 2014 reads:
“The changes to the existing tower will improve its appearance especially when viewed from the surrounding area.”
On 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, at 00:54; it caused 72 deaths. More than 70 others were injured and 223 people escaped.
An inquiry was set up by Theresa May because families were “owed an explanation”. She asked ex-judge Martin Moore-Bick to run it.
The Inquiry was to be in two phases; part one would examine what happened on the night of the fire and part two would examine the actions of the companies and administrators involved in the refurbishment of the Tower. The refurbishment cost £10m. Early reports on the failure of materials used on the Tower would mean that agents involved in the refurbishment would have many uncomfortable questions to answer in phase two of the inquiry.
PHASE 1 REPORT, October 2019
In phase one the fire services took the bulk of the blame. They provided tenants with contradictory advice as the fire raged. Many tenants were advised to stay put, those who took this advice perished. It was also clear that local fire services were insufficiently resourced, for instance, they were unable to reach the fire as it spread to upper floors.
Note: The LFB budget was cut by £100m over the decade to 2017. Boris Johnson was mayor of London from 2008 to 2016.
The institutional indifference of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), who owned Grenfell Tower, was highlighted in the inquiry. A few council members left their jobs swiftly following the fire, others did not stand for re-election in 2018.
Moore-Bick intended to act as quickly as possible. However, phase one took 26 months to conclude.
Phase Two
Phase two was due to start at the end of January 2020 but contractors and the client for the tower’s refurbishment wanted immunity from prosecution, otherwise they would not answer question. Moore-Bick is was expected to ask the attorney general to prevent “the use of evidence given by witnesses … against them in any future criminal proceedings”.
The inquiry was put on hold for a week. Cross-examination of Andrzej Kuszell, Bruce Sounes and Neil Crawford at the architects Studio E will be delayed.
This phase must find out how RBKC made decisions and examine the roles of contractors Rydon and Harley Facades, the architects Studio E, and the makers of the cladding materials including multinationals Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan. Thousands of documents are in the hands of the inquiry concerning the supply and use of combustible materials by these companies.
Note: Arconic manufactured the cladding used at Grenfell, found to have been the primary cause of the spread of the fire.
Note: Arconic knew in 2015 that the material used on Grenfell was “dangerous on facades”. In 2013, Celotex, which made the combustible insulation, was considering whether “our product realistically should not be used behind most cladding panels because in the event of a fire it would burn”.
11/02/2020
Sir Martin Moore-Bick is now waiting for attorney general, Geoffrey Cox to make a decision on granting immunity to the guilty parties.
On 13 February 2020, Cox was sacked as Attorney General. He was replaced by Suella Braverman.
News: 25/02/20
"Suella Braverman, the attorney general, said staff of companies and organisations involved in the disastrous refurbishment would be able to give oral evidence about how the tower was clad with combustible materials, without it being used by police and prosecutors to later charge them with criminal offences." Guardian
Killer cladding deadline missed
23,000 homes still blighted by ACM cladding
13/06/20
Two years after the Grenfell fire the Tory government, using the vocal chords of James Brokenshire, set a deadline for the removal of the killer cladding from peoples' homes. The date set was June 2020. Brokenshire warned building owners to “expect enforcement action” if action wasn’t taken.
Well, very little action has taken place, despite the fact the government is bank rolling (£1.6bn) the removal of cladding. Official figures show that 300 high-rise blocks are still wrapped in the killer cladding. However, one estimate suggests that up to 1,700 buildings may need to have cladding removed.
In the meantime, apart from sleepless nights and mental breakdowns, residents in affected blocks are paying out for 24-hour fire wardens, or round-the-clock waking watches, paying up to £850 a month and facing “astronomical” hikes to insurance premiums.
Grenfell Inquiry: Cladding firm suggested use of cheaper panels
An email from 2013 suggested using a cheaper material for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment. Mark Harris, of Harley Facades, told architects his firm's preference, "from a selfish point of view", was to use aluminium composite material ACM was "tried and tested" and the firm had used it many times before.
At the inquiry June 2021
Fire risk assessments, made by a former firefighter working for Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) in September 2010 admitted he based his fire risk assessment on an informal conversation with someone working for the main contractor at Grenfell Tower.