The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has published its second and final report into the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower in the early hours of 14 June 2017.
The fire at Grenfell Tower was the worst residential fire in the UK since the Second World War and resulted in the deaths of 72 people.
The Phase 1 report was published on 30 October 2019 and focused on the events of 14 June 2017: how the fire started, how it escaped from the flat where it had begun and how it spread over the whole building with tragic consequences.
Phase2 of the Inquiry examined the underlying causes of the fire to identify where mistakes were made and how Grenfell Tower came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread in the way identified by Phase 1. It also investigated the response of the authorities to the emergency.
Image: Zute Lightfoot, ACAVA Shoots
Introducing the report, Inquiry Chairman the Rt Hon Sir Martin Moore-Bick explained that the second part of the investigations had taken longer than originally hoped because, as those investigations progressed, the Inquiry uncovered many more matters of concern than had previously been expected.
The Inquiry report finds that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable “and that those who lived in Grenfell Tower were badly failed over a number of years by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of its occupants.”
“They include the government, the Tenant Management Organisation, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, those who manufactured and supplied the materials used in the refurbishment, those who certified their suitability for use on high-rise residential buildings, the architect, Studio E, the principal contractor, Rydon Maintenance Ltd, and some of its sub contractors, in particular, Harley Curtain Wall Ltd and its successor Harley Facades Ltd, some of the consultants, in particular the fire engineer, Exova Warringtonfire Ltd, the local authority’s building control department and the London Fire Brigade,” Sir Martin said.
Sir Martin went on to explain that while not all of them bear the same degree of responsibility for the eventual disaster, “all contributed to it in one way or another, in most cases through incompetence but in some cases through dishonesty and greed.”
Panel member and architect Thouria Istephan, who spent nearly 30 years as an architect before joining the Inquiry in 2020, said: “Our report identifies what we think is needed to make sure that the legacy of Grenfell is real and brings about lasting change. Our recommendations place new burdens and responsibilities on people and organisations”.
Ms Istephan continued: “I make no apologies for that: put simply, if you work in the construction industry and you do not feel the weight of the responsibility you have for keeping people safe - you are in the wrong job.”
Former housing association chief executive Ali Akbor OBE, who joined the Inquiry as a Panel Member in 2020, said: “I hope that our report acts as a reminder to the clients of future building projects - including social housing providers - that they have a responsibility to the users of their buildings to ensure that safety is not sacrificed to the demands of speed and cost.”
Mr Akbor concluded by adding: “We cannot in a few words here today do full justice to the totality of our report. What is needed is for those with responsibility for building safety - in my sector as in Thouria’s - to read the report, to reflect on it, and to treat Grenfell as a touchstone in all that they do in the future. To act with professionalism, with competence, and to put people first.”
Recommendations put forward by the Inquiry panel include:
- bringing responsibility for all aspects of fire safety under one government Department;
- the appointment of a construction regulator to oversee all aspects of the construction industry;
- the establishment of a body of professional fire engineers, properly regulated and with protected status and the introduction of mandatory fire safety strategies for higher-risk buildings;
- a licensing scheme for contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings;
- the regulation and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors;
- the establishment of a College of Fire and Rescue to provide practical, educational and managerial training to fire and rescue services.
- the introduction of a requirement for the government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries, describing the steps taken in response or its reasons for declining to implement them.
The Panel expressed its gratitude to all those who had supported the Inquiry through giving evidence and providing statements to assist its investigations, in particular the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell Tower.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry opened on 14 September 2017. During the course of its investigations it disclosed over 300,000 documents to 646 Core Participants, obtained over 1500 witness statements and sat for more than 300 days, most of which were devoted to taking evidence from a wide range of factual and expert witnesses.
