THE FINAL REPORT on the Grenfell Tower fire in London will be published today, with bereaved relatives and survivors expressing hope that the actions of the UK Government and private companies will be “fully exposed”.
The fire happened on the night of 14 June, 2017 and claimed the lives of 72 people.
The day after the fire, then British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a public inquiry would be held into the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire.
The first phase of the inquiry focused on the factual narrative and its findings were published in October 2019.
This report, which looked at how the first started and spread over the whole building, found that the Grenfell Tower cladding did not comply with building regulations and that this was the “principal” reason for the fire’s rapid spread.
The second and final stage of the inquiry examines the causes of the fire and how Grenfell Tower came to be in such a condition that allowed the fire to spread so easily.
It’s expected that the inquiry chairman Martin Moore-Bick and his two panel members will lay out detailed findings regarding the actions of corporate firms in the construction industry, the local authority, London Fire Brigade and the UK Government.
The final hearing of the second phase of the inquiry took place in November 2022 and families have previously spoken of their long wait and continued fight for justice.
A small number of Kingspan’s K15 insulation boards were found on the columns around Grenfell Tower.
Cavan-based Kingspan is a leading building materials company.
Conclusions on the extent of Kingspan’s responsibility are likely to form part of the final report published today.
The company has insisted that its K15 insulation product made up just 5% of the insulation in the tower block and was used as a substitute product without its recommendation.
In its closing statement to the Phase 2 hearing, Kingspan said the Phase 1 report “supports our position that the type of insulation used on the Tower made no material difference to nature and speed of the spread of the fire”.
The Grenfell Inquiry previously heard evidence criticising Kingspan’s business practices.
It was accused “malpractice” in the “development and testing” of insulations boards and of “misleading the market about the safety and compliance”.
Former British Housing Secretary Michael Gove also described evidence presented regarding Kingspan during the Grenfell Inquiry as “reckless and deceptive”.
I have written to cladding firm Kingspan following their claim that they are willing to take financial responsibility for their role in the Grenfell tragedy & building safety crisis. I hope they will urgently meet with my officials to discuss this following their record profits👇 pic.twitter.com/Gptl3gw1wu
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) March 28, 2023
Gove said of Kingspan: “The testimony at the Grenfell Tower inquiry uncovered shameful practices and an abhorrent culture of disregard for the safety of residents in their homes.”
In December 2020, the inquiry heard text messages sent between some senior members of staff at Kingspan suggested they believed the company was lying to the market about the fire performance.
The messages were between Peter Moss from Kingspan’s technical team and colleague Arron Chalmers.
In response to a text message from Moss asking if a product had the highest fire safety rating of Class 0, Chalmers replied: “Doesn’t actually get class 0 when we test the whole product tho LOL!”
Moss then asks if “we lied” to which Chalmers replies: “yeahhhh”.
Chalmers also said in the text exchange: “All we do is lie here.”
Meanwhile, Philip Heath, a Divisional Business Development Director with Kingspan, said in an email that building consultants who raised fire safety concerns can “go f#ck [sic] themselves”.
Heath apologised for these comments at a hearing and said he was in a “dark place” due to one of his friends and colleagues being terminally ill.
The Chief Executive of Kingspan Gene Murtagh said the “conduct” of “a small number of
employees in the UK” was “unacceptable” but that these “historical process shortcomings” do not reflect Kingspan’s “high standards” or on the company’s “culture or values”.
In its closing statement to the Phase 1 hearings, Kingspan said it had “fully engaged” with both the inquiry and Metropolitan Police investigation and that it had introduced “systems to allow greater traceability of its k15 through the supply chain”.
Meanwhile, Sandra Ruiz, whose 12-year-old niece Jessica Urbano Ramirez died in the fire, said this final publication must be a “landmark report”, which prompts “cultural, institutional and legislative change”.
Elsewhere, former tower resident Edward Daffarn said he hopes it will “highlight the institutionalised indifference that saw private companies put profit before people”.
Since it was set up, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry held more than 300 public hearings, received over 1,600 witness statements and disclosed more than 320,000 documents to core participants.
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