Grenfell Tower inquiry distancing rules anger the bereaved

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Admin

Hundreds of survivors and the bereaved will be unable to attend under distancing rules

Builders behind the disastrous Grenfell Tower refurbishment are finally set to face public questioning over the June 2017 fire that killed 72 people, as the delayed public inquiry resumes on Monday with strict social distancing rules that have angered the bereaved.

Hundreds of survivors, families and residents are among those who will be prohibited from attending the hearings, which will be conducted with only the inquiry panel, led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, witnesses, their lawyers and cross-examining inquiry counsel present in the Paddington hearing room. Everyone else is being invited to follow proceedings online.

Grenfell Tower inquiry could resume by Zoom videolink

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Admin

Inquiry solicitor sets out options for restarting hearings during coronavirus crisis

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.

Grenfell witnesses threaten to withhold evidence

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Admin

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 inquiry panellist steps down over cladding company links

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Admin

Benita Mehra had been the target of fury from survivors and bereaved of 2017 tragedy

A key member of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry has resigned after fury among survivors and the bereaved at her links to the company that made the combustible cladding.

Less than 48 hours before the inquiry is due to start hearing evidence about “decisions which led to the installation of a highly combustible cladding system”, Boris Johnson announced Benita Mehra was standing down from a panel advising the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick. It followed 10 days of rising pressure on the prime minister from the community devastated by the fire on 14 June 2017 – which claimed 72 lives – to reverse her appointment.

Grenfell survivors criticise ‘out of touch’ Boris Johnson

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Admin

Families feel they have fallen down agenda amid row over inquiry panel member

Grenfell survivors have accused Boris Johnson of downgrading the government’s interest in the disaster and said he is out of touch with what they are going through.

As pressure rose on the prime minister to rescind his appointment of a public inquiry panel member revealed to have links to the combustible cladding company involved in the tower’s refurbishment, community leaders said: “Grenfell families have dropped down the agenda for Downing Street.”

Grenfell survivors angered by inquiry panel change

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Admin

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.

Grenfell cladding firm has spent £30m defending its role in disaster

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Admin

Arconic’s outlay on lawyers dwarfs amount spent on panels found to be main cause of fire spread

The Grenfell Tower cladding manufacturer has spent £30m on lawyers and advisers defending its role in the disaster in an outlay that dwarfs the amount spent on the panels a public inquiry has determined were the main cause of fire spread.

Arconic has been spending at a rate of up to £50,000 a day on lawyers and other advisers, according to corporate filings in the US seen by the Guardian. As well as the public inquiry, it is embroiled in a criminal investigation in the UK with detectives investigating possible corporate manslaughter and manslaughter cases, a civil suit in the US for wrongful death brought by survivors and a consumer protection inquiry in France, where the subsidiary that supplied the Grenfell panels is based.

Grenfell Tower survivors ‘vindicated’ by inquiry report

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Admin

Bereaved and survivors welcomed criticism of London fire brigade’s instruction to stay put

Survivors and relatives of victims from Grenfell Tower have said they feel “vindicated” by the inquiry’s initial report into the fire that killed 72 people nearly two-and-a-half years ago.

At an emotional press conference following publication of Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s interim report, bereaved family members stood in silence for 72 seconds – one for each of those killed by the 14 June 2017 blaze.

How the US caught up with Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | podcast

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Admin

The Guardian’s Martin Chulov describes how US special forces finally tracked down Baghdadi, who was killed in a raid at the weekend. Plus: Robert Booth on the criticism of the London fire brigade’s response to the Grenfell Tower disaster

US special forces finally caught up with the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on Saturday at a safe house in the Syrian province of Idlib, one of the few areas of the country still outside regime control. In a night-time raid, Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest and killed himself and three of his children, according to Donald Trump.

The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov, has followed the rise and fall of Isis in the past five years from close quarters. He tells Rachel Humphreys what Baghdadi’s death will mean to the terrorist organisation, which has lost almost all the territory it held at its peak.

Grenfell inquiry accused of focusing on junior firefighters

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Admin

Fire chief says inquiry should have centred on cladding and government policy

Firefighters have accused the Grenfell Tower public inquiry of injustice by focusing on the shortcomings of rank and file officers while failing to scrutinise those in power, including the prime minister, Boris Johnson, who oversaw firefighting in London for eight years as mayor.

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said on Tuesday that it was “unfair and unjust” that firefighters were being publicly scrutinised in the long-awaited report being published this week, while political leaders were not.

Grenfell inquiry finds fire brigade ‘gravely’ ill-prepared for blaze

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Admin

Long-awaited report into tragedy that killed 72 people says shortcomings cost lives

The London fire brigade’s readiness for the Grenfell Tower fire was “gravely inadequate” and fewer people would have died if it had been better prepared, a long-awaited public inquiry report into the disaster that killed 72 people has concluded.

The report into the biggest single loss of life in London since the second world war also ruled that the building had been refurbished in breach of safety regulations and that contrary to the evidence so far of the cladding panel manufacturer, Arconic, “the principal reason why the flames spread so rapidly up the building” was its aluminium composite panels and the “melting and dripping of burning polyethylene”.

Firefighters braced for criticism in Grenfell inquiry report

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Admin

Much anticipated account of fire teams’ actions due in parliament on Wednesday

Firefighters are bracing for strong criticism of their response to the Grenfell Tower fire this week when the public inquiry into the disaster finally publishes its account of the 14 June 2017 blaze which claimed 72 lives.

Firefighters of different ranks who attended the incident have been warned they are facing criticism with the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade (LFB), Dany Cotton, expected to be among a handful of senior officers singled out in the 1,000-page report due to be laid before parliament on Wednesday.

Grenfell survivors’ anger as police say no charges until 2021

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Admin

‘Extremely frustrating and disheartening’: investigation held up by public inquiry

Survivors and the bereaved from the Grenfell Tower fire have expressed their “extreme frustration” at the pace of justice after Scotland Yard admitted no charges were likely for at least two years.

Detectives investigating the possibility of manslaughter and corporate manslaughter offences said their investigation must take into account the public inquiry into the disaster, the second phase of which will not start until the end of this year. Inquiry lawyers have been swamped with 476,000 separate documents.

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Category Archives: Grenfell Tower inquiry

Grenfell Tower inquiry distancing rules anger the bereaved

Grenfell Tower inquiry could resume by Zoom videolink

Grenfell witnesses threaten to withhold evidence

Grenfell inquiry panellist steps down over cladding company links

Grenfell survivors criticise ‘out of touch’ Boris Johnson

Grenfell survivors angered by inquiry panel change

Grenfell cladding firm has spent £30m defending its role in disaster

Grenfell Tower survivors ‘vindicated’ by inquiry report

How the US caught up with Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | podcast

Grenfell inquiry accused of focusing on junior firefighters

Grenfell inquiry finds fire brigade ‘gravely’ ill-prepared for blaze

Firefighters braced for criticism in Grenfell inquiry report

Grenfell survivors’ anger as police say no charges until 2021