Britain’s Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people was the result of “decades of failure” by government and construction industry bodies and “systematic dishonesty” by companies producing building materials, a final report released on Wednesday said.
The fire, which broke out in the early hours of June 14, 2017, spread rapidly through the 24-storey building in west London, caused by highly flammable cladding on the exterior.
The fire that started from a faulty freezer on the fourth floor took barely half an hour to reach the top floor of the building and lead to disastrous consequences.
The highly critical report is the result of a two-part independent inquiry led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick into the worst residential fire in Britain since the Second World War.
Revealing his findings, Moore-Bick said all 72 deaths as a result of the fire “could have been avoided” and the victims had been “horribly harmed”.
He said some of those who had played a role in sowing the seeds of the disaster had displayed “incompetence” as well as “dishonesty and greed”.
The report sharply criticises the Government and other influential bodies over the refurbishment of Grenfell, which led to the installation of cladding and other dangerous materials.
In particular the report condemns firms involved in the supply of rainscreen cladding panels and other insulation products.
They were accused of “systematic dishonesty”, saying they had “engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate testing procedures, misrepresent trial data, and mislead the market”.
Following the release of the report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed that his government would ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.
“The government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again,” he said in a written statement to Parliament.
‘stay here’
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has also been heavily criticised, with senior officers described as “complacent”.
It said the service had failed to ensure that the risk posed by the increased use of cladding was “shared with the wider organisation and reflected in training”.
It also failed to draw lessons from a previous fire in 2009, which “should have alerted the LFB to the shortcomings of its ability to fight fires in high-rise buildings”.
Residents who called emergency services were asked to remain in their flats and wait for rescue for about two hours after the fire broke out.
The “stay put” advice, which is now believed to pose a risk to lives, has now been revised.
As a result, some men, women and children, including entire families, were trapped in their homes.
Abdulaziz al-Wahabi, 52, and his wife Fauzia, 41, died on the 21st floor along with their three children, the youngest of whom, Mehdi, was eight.
Mehdi’s teacher recalled his ability to “make us laugh and smile” and “lighten our mood.”
Abdulaziz was described as a “loyal family man” who was “always helping neighbours carry their bags and opening doors for them”.
Fauzia was “lively and sociable”.
The youngest victims of the tragedy were a stillborn baby and a six-month-old girl, Lina Belkadi, who was found with her mother on the staircase between the 19th and 20th floors.
Dangerous Buildings
This disaster has left many people living in similarly clad buildings with a permanent fear of a repeat of the tragedy.
Those who owned their own homes also faced financial problems as their apartments were no longer sellable.
Britain’s then Conservative government announced in 2022 that developers would have to contribute more towards the cost of removing buildings, and that residents of buildings taller than 11 metres would not have to pay anything.
But a fire in Dagenham, east London, a week ago highlighted the ongoing dangers.
More than 80 people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night from a block where work to remove “non-compliant” cladding had only been partially completed, as smoke and flames emerged.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said there were still around 1,300 buildings in London alone that needed urgent “improvement” work.
criminal charge?
Grieving relatives and survivors had said before the report was released that they hoped it would give them “the truth we deserve.”
For some, this means prison for those who “made decisions that prioritised profit over people’s safety”.
“For me, there’s no justice until people are behind bars,” said Sandra Ruiz, whose 12-year-old niece, Jessica Urbano Ramirez, died.
However, London’s Metropolitan Police has said its investigators will need until the end of 2025 to finalise their probe.
Prosecutors will then take a year to decide whether anyone will be charged.
However, for former Grenfell Tower resident Edward Daffern, such a long delay is unacceptable.
He said: “We are not prepared to wait much longer, and this report needs to be the catalyst for significant progress by the Met Police in bringing charges against those responsible for the deaths of 72 people.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
