Still no justice for the victims of Grenfell

The truth, as the Prime Minister told MPs, is that the tragedy should never have happened at all had proper safety precautions been followed

Seven years after a fire engulfed Grenfell Tower in London with the loss of 72 lives, the public inquiry that reported yesterday appears to have satisfied no one. The inordinate length of time it has taken, largely to establish what was known within a few weeks of the tragedy, has deepened the anger of those who lost family members. They want justice but feel it has so far been denied them.
The report by a panel chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, amounting to more than a million words in seven volumes, said the conflagration was caused by the “systematic dishonesty” of construction firms that manufactured cladding for the tower’s refurbishment. None of those identified will be eligible for future government contracts.
Their mendacity was compounded by “decades of failure” by government ministers and officials who ignored a series of warnings over the risks. Regulators had put commercial interests above building safety and had been complicit in allowing manufacturers to “manipulate” fire-testing data.
Previous governments had been aware of the dangers posed by combustible cladding for almost 20 years but “failed to heed” myriad warnings, including a parliamentary select committee report in 1999. The Department for Communities and Local Government had also received “numerous warnings about the risks” posed by the cladding in the five years between 2012 and 2017 but ignored those, too.
The idea that basic safety measures required by law were ignored for financial gain and that those meant to oversee the regime either turned a blind eye or were simply indifferent to whether or not it was working is appalling.
The fire brigade was also in the frame for a “chronic lack of leadership” and for the advice given to residents to stay in their flats. While they could not have known that a relatively minor blaze caused by a faulty fridge-freezer in the kitchen of one flat would eventually engulf the entire building, they were slow to adapt when it did.
But the truth, as the Prime Minister told MPs, is that the tragedy should never have happened at all had proper safety precautions been followed.
Most of these accusations have swirled around ever since the fire and have been subject to a police investigation for criminal culpability. But the decision of Theresa May, then prime minister, to order a public inquiry meant this took priority.
Scotland Yard said that it would take a further 12 to 18 months to examine the report “line by line”, while the Crown Prosecution Service said it did not expect to charge anyone until 2026, if at all.
When such disasters occur, demands for a public inquiry invariably follow and politicians find it easier to agree to one than explain why a different approach might be better. There are currently 15 inquiries underway, many of which could have reached conclusions within weeks, rather than the years currently taken at vast cost to the taxpayer.
The bill from the Grenfell inquiry is close to £200 million. These costs, the victims’ support payments and any compensation should be recovered from the firms responsible for cutting corners or falsifying data to land contracts.
Grenfell was more than a tragedy, however. It became a political cause célèbre because it happened during the turbulence that followed the Brexit vote. The burned out tower became the charred symbol of a polarised nation, a reminder of the reality of life for the poor, immigrants and refugees crammed behind its facade in the richest borough in Britain. The shell of the building, which should have been demolished years ago, still stands as a reminder of that toxic period.
But there are other victims of this tragic event. Thousands of high-rise residents are trapped in their properties, unable to sell their flats because remedial work has not been carried out. This is a scandal affecting predominantly young people that needs to be rectified and not brushed aside.
Ministers might also consider how Grenfell has highlighted the law of unintended consequences. The refurbishment of the block with what turned out to be combustible cladding was not just for aesthetic reasons but to conform to new eco-friendly insulation regulations. Safety cannot take second place to the pursuit of green emissions targets.
As to justice for the bereaved families, that will take many more years to come, if it ever does.