Grenfell Tower inquiry to deliver final report seven years after deadly fire

An inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire will deliver its final report this morning, seven years after the deadly blaze.

The long-running inquiry’s second report into the disaster, which claimed the lives of 72 people, will present its findings on how the west London tower block came to be in a condition to allow the flames to spread so quickly.

The report into phase one was published in October 2019 and concluded the tower’s cladding did not comply with building regulations and was the “principal” reason for the rapid and “profoundly shocking” spread of the fire.

Sky News will have full coverage of the Grenfell report today, live on all platforms as the report is released at 11am

A fire in a kitchen in the early hours of 14 June, 2017, spread rapidly around the building, engulfing it in flames in as little as three hours.

Inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick and his two panel members are expected to lay out their detailed findings concerning the actions of construction firms, the local authority and the government.

The London Fire Brigade’s actions are also expected to be scrutinised, as well as its structure and management, and its preparations for fighting fires in high-rise flats.

Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Police and Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) said charges over the fire were years away.

Some 58 people and 19 firms and organisations are under investigation, but because of the complexity of the inquiry and the need to consider its findings, people are unlikely to be charged or tried until at least 10 years after the disaster, the force and CPS said.

The Met Police said 180 investigators were working on the case, having interviewed more than 50 suspects for over 300 hours, amassing 152 million files and documents.

Antonio Roncolato, who survived the Grenfell Tower fire, told Sky News: “The truth came out at the inquiry, so I’m very curious to see what the judge has put down in the report.

“I feel confident it’s going to be very thorough and he will have no problems pointing fingers at the people who were responsible.”

Read more:
The Grenfell children who survived the blaze
Grenfell and other inquiry families fear recommendations will disappear
Disabled people ‘still at risk’ despite Grenfell Inquiry recommendations

It comes as Sky News revealed legal powers introduced since the Grenfell Tower fire to force building owners to fix serious fire safety issues are being ignored.

One of the UK’s first Building Remediation Orders, issued by a judge last year, gave the owners of a block of flats in Bristol six months to fix serious fire safety defects including removing dangerous Grenfell-style insulation, but the court’s deadline has now passed and nothing has been done.

Sky News will have full coverage of the Grenfell report when it is published at 11am. Watch a special programme on the disaster on Sky News at 8pm.