Grenfell Inquiry report main findings
Seven years after 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower disaster, the public inquiry has said that “systemic dishonesty” contributed to the horrific fire.
Its report laid bare years of missed opportunities to prevent the catastrophe and how those responsible for fire safety were at risk of being compromised by commercial interests.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the 1,670-page report into the UK’s deadliest residential fire since the Second World War.
‘Systemic dishonesty’ about panels and insulation
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report said a “very significant reason” why the building came to be clad in combustible materials was “systemic dishonesty” on the part of those who made and sold panels and insulation products.
“They engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market,” the report said.
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‘We want changes and justice’
The report singled out Arconic Architectural Products, which it said “deliberately concealed from the market” the true extent of the danger of using its Reynobond 55 PE rainscreen panels which were installed on the external wall of the tower.
It also pointed the finger at Celotex, which manufactured the combustible RS5000 foam insulation. It said the company “embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market”.
Exhibits from the investigation into the fire. Pic: PA
Regulation at the time was ‘seriously defective’
The system of regulating the construction and refurbishment of high-rise residential buildings that was in place at the time of the disaster was “seriously defective in a number of respects”, the report said.
It added the government failed to actively monitor that system and ensure that dangers of which it became aware were communicated to industry.
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Conflicts of interest in the system
The report also dug into the “inappropriate relationship” between approved inspectors and those they were inspecting.
“Approved inspectors had a commercial interest in acquiring and retaining customers that conflicted with the performance of their role as guardians of the public interest,” it said.
It pointed to the Building Research Establishment, which held a trusted position within the construction industry, saying that its systems were “not robust enough to ensure complete independence”.
“As a result, it sacrificed rigorous application of principle to its commercial interests,” the report said.
This underlying conflict of interest, the inquiry said, will continue to exist and continue to threaten the integrity of the system, meaning that change is needed.
Grenfell Tower lit up for the seventh anniversary of the tragedy
Governments knew of risks for years
Successive governments had 26 years following a serious fire at an 11-storey tower block in Merseyside in 1991 to identify the risks posed by combustible cladding panels and insulation and take action, the inquiry found.
“Indeed, by 2016 the department was well aware of those risks, but failed to act on what it knew,” it said.
The report said the government failed to heed a warning by the Environment and Transport Select Committee in 1999 that it should not take a deadly fire for steps to be taken to minimise the risks posed by some external cladding systems.
Candles with the names of the victims were lit during a memorial service. Pic: PA
‘Uncaring and bullying’
There was also criticism of the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which was responsible for running services at Grenfell Tower.
Relations between the TMO and residents “were increasingly characterised by distrust, dislike, personal antagonism and anger” and “some, perhaps many, occupants of the tower regarded the TMO as an uncaring and bullying overlord that belittled and marginalised them”.
It said there was a “toxic atmosphere fuelled by mistrust of both sides” but there was a “serious failure” by the TMO in allowing the relationship to deteriorate to such an extent.
The TMO and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea were jointly responsible for managing fire safety at Grenfell Tower – but the years between 2009 and 2017 were marked by a “persistent indifference to fire safety”, the report said.
Call for better regulation
One of the foremost recommendations in the report was for a single independent body to regulate the industry and drive “much-needed change”, and that this body should report to a single government secretary of state.
Its functions would include things like regulating construction products, testing and certification, licensing of contractors to work on higher-risk buildings, carrying out research and accrediting fire risk assessors.
The inquiry also recommended that the secretary of state to whom this body would report should have a chief construction adviser with sufficient budget and staff to advise on all matters.
It also called for the profession of fire engineer, which does not currently need a formal qualification to practise, be formally recognised and the title and function protected by statute.
Watch special programme on Grenfell disaster on Sky News at 8pm tonight
UK
Pictured: Boy killed in Gateshead industrial estate fire – 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
Tributes have been paid to 14-year-old Layton Carr who died in a fire at an industrial estate.
Eleven boys and three girls, aged between 11 and 14 years, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the incident in Gateshead on Friday. They remain in police custody.
Police were alerted to a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area
Firefighters raced to Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area shortly after 8pm, putting out the blaze a short time later.
Police then issued an appeal for a missing boy, Layton Carr, who was believed to be in the area at the time.
In a statement, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.
Layton’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, police added.
Layton has been described as a ‘beautiful soul’
A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.
Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”
One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”
Another added: “My boy ❤️ my baby cousin, my Layton. Nothing will ever come close to the pain I feel right now. Forever 14. I’ll miss you sausage.”
A third said: “Rest in peace big lad such a beautiful soul taken far to soon my thoughts are with you Gee stay strong girl hear for u always.”
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Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”
She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.
They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.
A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.
Sky News can reveal that the government has rowed back on a national compensation scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, despite it being promised under the previous Conservative administration.
Warning – this story contains references to sexual and physical abuse
A National Redress Scheme was one of 20 key recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), but a Home Office report reveals the government has scrapped it because of the cost.
Marie, who is 71, suffered alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at Greenfield House Convent in St Helens, Merseyside, between 1959 and 1962, and is still fighting for compensation.
Greenfield House Convent, where Marie says she was abused
As soon as she arrived as a six-year-old, Marie says her hair was cut off, her name changed, and she experienced regular beatings from the nuns and students.
She claims a nun instigated the violence, including when Marie was held down so that her legs were “spread-eagled” as she was sexually abused with a coat hanger.
Merseyside Police investigated claims of abuse at the convent, but in 2016, a suspect died before charges could be brought.
Marie has received an apology from the Catholic body that ran the home; she tried to sue them, but her claim was rejected because it was filed too long after the alleged abuse.
Marie, 71, is still fighting for compensation for the abuse she says she suffered as a child
In February, ministers said the law would change for victims of sexual abuse trying to sue institutions for damages, which was a recommendation from the IICSA.
Previously, people had to make a civil claim before they were 21, unless the victim could prove a fair trial could proceed despite the time lapse.
Campaigners argued for the time limit to be removed as, on average, victims wait 26 years to come forward. Changes to the 1980 Limitation Act could lead to more people making claims.
Peter Garsden, President of The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers
Civil cases ‘can take three to five years’
But Peter Garsden, president of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, worries that when it comes to historical abuse where the defendant is dead, institutions will still argue that it is impossible to have a fair trial and will fight to have the case thrown out of court.
Mr Garsden said it takes “between three and five years” for a civil case to get to trial.
He warned that claimants “can end up losing if you go through that process. Whereas the Redress Scheme would be quicker, much more straightforward, and much more likely to give justice to the victims”.
Victim awarded £10 compensation
Jimbo, who was a victim of abuse at St Aidan’s children’s home in Cheshire, took his case to the High Court twice and the Court of Appeal three times, but, after 13 years, all he ended up with was £10 for his bus fare to court.
Despite the Lord Justice of Appeal saying he believed that the abuse had occurred, Jimbo lost his claim because of the time limit for child sexual abuse claims to be made.
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Neither Marie nor Jimbo is likely to benefit from the removal of the time limit for personal injury claims, which is why Mr Garsden is calling on the government to implement a National Redress Scheme for victims of sexual abuse, as recommended by the IICSA.
Hundreds of millions paid to victims
The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have set up compensation schemes and paid hundreds of millions of pounds to victims.
In 2023, the then Conservative government said a similar scheme would be organised for England and Wales.
But the Home Office admitted in its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse: Progress Update that it “is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all survivors of child sexual abuse”.
“In the current fiscal environment, this recommendation is very difficult to take forward,” it added.
For victims, the scheme was the last chance of compensation for a lifetime blighted by abuse.
“The money is about justice and about all the other people who have had to suffer this abuse,” Marie said.
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