THE Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people was the result of ‘dishonest companies, successive governments, and a lack of strategy by the fire service’, a scathing Grenfell Inquiry report concludes.
All deaths were avoidable, the Grenfell inquiry chair Martin Moore-Bick said, as he delivered his final statement seven years after the fire.
The report must be the basis for criminal charges against those responsible for the 72 deaths.
It says a cladding product manufacturer ‘deliberately concealed’ fire risks, while coalition and Conservative governments ‘ignored, delayed or disregarded’ concerns.
It continued that the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people was the result of ‘dishonest’ companies, and successive governments, the scathing report concluded.
In Parliament, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the thoughts of the House are with the victims of the Grenfell disaster.
In a written statement a little earlier, Starmer noted the final report had found ‘substantial and widespread failings’ and thanked the inquiry for its work.
The inquiry found that all 72 deaths in the Grenfell fire were ‘avoidable’ and people living there were ‘badly failed’ by those responsible for their safety and that of the tower.
Moore-Bick added that their failings can be attributed in most cases to ‘incompetence’ and others to ‘dishonesty and greed’.
The government and others failed to give proper consideration to the dangers of some kinds of cladding over decades, he added. Manufacturers of the cladding engaged in ‘systematic dishonesty’, the chairman said, also accusing them of misleading customers about their safety.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s tenant management organisation ‘manipulated’ an appointment process for its favoured architect, who had no experience of installing cladding on high-rise buildings.
There was a ‘chronic lack’ of leadership at the London Fire Brigade, including too much emphasis on process and an ‘attitude of complacency’.
Grenfell United’s spokeswoman’s statement urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government to ‘break bad habits’ of previous governments and implement systematic change, adding the ‘time to address this is already three decades too late’.
‘You must finally make this the turning point for Britain,’ she added.
Then Natasha Elcock turned to the police and Crown Prosecution Service. She said they must ‘deliver justice and bring charges against those who are culpable for the deaths of our loved ones’.
She pointed to the inquiry’s finding that every single loss of life in the fire was ‘avoidable’, and the safety of those living there ‘was never a priority’.
She added: ‘We lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific way,’ through ‘greed, corruption, incompetence and negligence.’
She said today has been the conclusion of a painful, years-long process, which speaks to a lack of competence, understanding and a ‘fundamental failure of the most basic duties of care’.
The tenants group also blamed the ‘greed of an industry’ that has been ‘poorly regulated’ by successive governments, which she says were warned about the risks of dangerous cladding as far back as 1991.
The names of all 72 Grenfell Tower victims were read out and published at 11:51am.
Moore-Bick says some steps have already been taken to respond to failures identified, but more should be done to ‘bring about a fundamental change’ in the construction industry.
Moore-Bick singled out Kensington and Chelsea Borough council for particular criticism, which should have had plans in place to deal with the emergency but did not.
It is now crystal clear that the health and safety of the UK’s working class and middle class depends on going forward to nationalise the banks and the major industries and putting an end to the ‘dog-eat-dog’ capitalist system!
