Grenfell, COVID and Infected Blood families ‘have no faith’ inquiry recommendations will be properly carried out
A ‘silent walk’ will take place in West London today to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster that claimed 72 lives.
Phase one of the public inquiry into the fire ended five years ago, yet campaigners claim not all of its recommendations have been implemented.
Now they have joined forces with families of infected blood victims and COVID campaigners in calling for oversight over inquiry recommendations, saying they have “no faith” the current system will see real change.
Despite costing hundreds of millions of pounds, public inquiry recommendations do not have to be followed, and there is no formal oversight to check they are being properly met once the process is over.
Campaign groups Grenfell United, COVID-19 Bereaved and Factor 8 say this risks their tragedies being repeated.
‘Nothing’s really happened to change things’
Lobby Akinnola, lost his dad to COVID
Lobby Akinnola and Jason Evans both lost their dads in the midst of a national tragedy. Lobby’s father Femi died in April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic; while Jason’s dad Jonathan died three decades earlier, after contracting Hep C and HIV as a result of the infected blood scandal.
Lobby was in his 20s when his dad died, while Jason was just four years old. But both agree that the worst part isn’t the loss, it’s “all the time later you don’t get to have with your loved one”.
Both have come to a meeting with Edward Daffarn, a survivor of the Grenfell fire.
Jason Evans, lost his dad to infected blood
All three of them are at various stages of the lengthy public inquiry process.
The Infected Blood Inquiry reported back last month, finding the scandal was “not an accident”.
Phase Two of the Grenfell Inquiry is due in September, and COVID is years away from finishing.
By the end, all three Inquiries will have produced a raft of recommendations – designed to prevent history from being repeated. But none of the men in this room have confidence they will be followed properly.
Grenfell United, COVID-19 Bereaved and Factor 8 now support calls for a ‘National Oversight Mechanism’, which would scrutinise and analyse the work done after inquests, government-commissioned reviews and public inquiries.
Grenfell survivor Edward Daffarn
‘Structural solution’ needed
They accept that not every recommendation will be able to be implemented, but say a mechanism would provide independent oversight and answers why.
Without it, they fear, lessons won’t be learnt, and future lives not saved.
It would also, they agree, take the pressure off all three of their shoulders. Jason says the relief he felt at the receiving their report was short lived: “You have to fight just to get the inquiry. You have to fight to have the questions put to the witnesses. Of course, you’re then going to have to fight for the recommendations, especially if they cost money.
“That’s just very sadly a part of trying to get some sense of justice in this country.”
Three campaigners have come together to call for more oversight of the outcomes of public inquiries
Lobby is adamant there needs to be a “structural solution”. Otherwise, “in another 30 years there will be another three people around the same table talking about the same issues and I don’t think we can do that anymore”.
Edward says the Grenfell Community have seen first hand what happens when inquiries or inquests are not followed: “There was a fire at Lakenal House in 2009 that killed six people, after which the Coroner’s report made recommendations about the danger of fire-spread.
“The government was fully aware of those recommendations but chose not to act on them.
“And then in 2017, we had a fire that killed 72 people.”
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‘It’s all about safeguarding future lives’
Phase One of the inquiry heard how, if those recommendations had been met, Grenfell might have been prevented.
Just as concerning, Edward says, is the fact that recommendations from that initial phase haven’t been met yet.
The chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick recommended that all disabled people living in high-rise blocks get personal evacuation plans, but in 2022 the Home Office rejected the idea, citing “practicality”, “proportionality” and “safety”.
Adam Gabsi, who has MS, took the government to court over that decision, and lost: “I am a wheelchair user. I live on the sixth floor. In 2022 neither lift in my building worked for 64 days.
Adam Gabsi, wheelchair user
“In 2023, neither lift in my building worked for 42 days. So I have first-hand experience of how dangerous that could be.
“My building is currently surrounded in the similar cladding as Grenfell. They are removing it. Of course being trapped in the flat was extremely dangerous and having an evacuation plan is paramount. It’s essential, it’s integral.”
The calls for a National Oversight Mechanism were first launched a year ago by the charity Inquest.
Executive director Deborah Coles told Sky News it’s all about safeguarding future lives, and making sure the burden for pushing change forwards doesn’t rely on families: “At the moment this accountability gap which exists means recommendations about public health and safety can simply disappear into the ether, and that really does undermine trust and confidence in these legal processes.”
The Home Office have previously said work continues on their recommendations, and they’re committed to making sure a tragedy like Grenfell never happens again.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
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Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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