The final report of the six-year public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire that claimed the lives of 72 people in 2017 has found that the catastrophe was the result of a chain of failures by governments, “dishonest” companies and a lack of strategy by the fire service. Among the recommendations laid out are the introduction of a single construction regulator, a College of Fire and Rescue to improve firefighters’ training, and changes to the way materials are tested for fire safety. The report criticised systematic dishonesty within manufacturers as a reason for the tower block being clad in combustible materials.
The report sets out a “path to disaster” at Grenfell, stretching back to the early 1990s with regard to fire safety in high-rise buildings. It highlights the way that fire safety has been managed and regulated, with concerns having been “ignored, delayed, or disregarded” by both coalition and Conservative governments. The cladding installed in the 1970s-built Grenfell Tower was made of highly flammable polyethylene which was added in 2016 during disastrous refurbishment.
The report attributes incompetence to most of the failings that led up to the fire, but also identifies “dishonesty and greed”. The roles played by three companies which made cladding and insulation used in the refurbishment were examined. Arconic, which produced panels of Reynobond PE cladding, deliberately concealed the true extent of the danger of using its product and focussed on sustaining the market. Celotex, one of the companies that made insulation, presented its product to Harley Facades as being safe and suitable for Grenfell although “it knew that was not the case”, while Kingspan misled the market about the limitations of its product.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the inquiry’s chair, noted that not all of the companies and organisations involved “bear the same degree of responsibility for the disaster” but that all have contributed in one way or another. Speaking after the report was published, Sir Keir Starmer apologised on behalf of the British state, saying those affected had been “let down very badly before, during and in the aftermath of the tragedy”. Police and prosecutors have projected that investigations will need to continue until the end of 2025, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026
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