Landlord took five years to replace ventilation system after 2010 fire spread smoke across 11 storeys

The landlord of Grenfell Tower took five years to replace a smoke ventilation system that the London fire brigade said had suffered “catastrophic failure” in a fire in 2010 that spread smoke across 11 storeys and injured three people, the inquiry into the disaster has heard.

The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) was told by the LFB that the system needed a full test after it failed causing injuries to residents, including Sayeda Ahmed who lived in flat 156. She received an admission of liability from the council landlord after she inhaled heavy smoke that had spread from the fire on the sixth-floor landing, the inquiry heard.

Simon Lawrence tells inquiry he offered no such assurances about cladding material

The project manager on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment has denied assuring the block’s landlord its new cladding panels “would not burn at all”.

The public inquiry into the disaster that killed 72 people was shown a witness statement from David Gibson, head of capital investment at the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, that claimed Simon Lawrence of Rydon said the plastic-filled panels were “inert”. In fact they were highly combustible and the inquiry has already deemed they were the primary cause of the fire’s spread.

Inquiry solicitor sets out options for restarting hearings during coronavirus crisis

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The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster could resume in virtual form with evidence taken by Zoom videolink, its senior legal adviser has told bereaved people and survivors.

An online system has been successfully tested by role-playing barristers, and hearings could be restarted within weeks if the option is chosen following a consultation launched on Monday.

People involved in cladding want assurances testimonies will not be used to prosecute them

Witnesses in the Grenfell inquiry who were involved in the tower’s refurbishment have threatened to withhold evidence unless they receive an assurance that their testimony will not be used to mount criminal prosecutions that could land them in jail.

Lawyers for the architects, builders and the client on the works threw the inquiry into confusion on Wednesday when they wrote to its chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, arguing that their clients could claim a privilege against self-incrimination as a reason for not answering questions.

Grenfell United says news that member had been replaced was ‘snuck out before Christmas’

Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have expressed disappointment about a change to the inquiry panel that was “snuck out just before Christmas”.

The second phase of the investigation will include a panel and is set to begin early next year.