The Grenfell Tower fire was an atrocity, and yesterday’s inquiry report has long been held out as a seminal moment in the journey to lasting change. Sir Moore-Bick’s report into the killing of 72 people who were fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, aunts, uncles and grandparents in 2017, found it happened because a catalogue of systemic failures of The Council, The Government, "dishonest" companies, and a lack of proper planning from the fire service. This cannot be put aside as an accident, the definition of which is “an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.”
Sir Keir Starmer (Prime Minister), passionately promised the report will lead to change. As did his Deputy this morning (5th September).
• The government will act faster to remove dangerous cladding from buildings.
• Companies involved in the mistakes highlighted by the report won’t be allowed to get government contracts.
• The construction industry will be reformed, possibly a new regulator body.
• Promised to make sure social landlords are held responsible for their actions.
• No decision has been made yet about whether Grenfell Tower will be demolished, but that discussions are ongoing.
The huge report has been devoured by journalists, activists and residents alike. And details have emerged, what follows is the briefest of overviews.
There are 58 suggestions to improve the areas that to one degree or another failed with disastrous effect:
- Building safety
- Government policies, including local governance
- Fire Fighting response.
Sir Moore-Bick’s recommendations are not legally binding , and indeed, none of the recommendations from the first report have transitioned, yet, into law. This means that they are currently, little more than guidance. Though indications are that the relevant parties listed in the report are minded to follow them , however, it is worth noting that in his statement Sir Moore-Bick did say that there was a catalogue of fraud, manipulation and systematic dishonesty (lying to you and I) so, the community may well be asking if it is not the law, then what is the value of the report?
The Metropolitan Police have indicated they will need at least a year and a half to finish investigating. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) cannot make a final decision about criminal charges until the end of 2026. This is drawing the pain out exponentially for those requiring more than a report and are seeking justice.
The report shows that the path to the atrocity was laid back in the early 1990s, when the government was required to implement European directives on fire safety, directives let the government decide how best to achieve the overall goal. However, this was during a binge on deregulation and the government, architects, commerce and industry considered that fire brigades were too inflexible and demanded belt and braces solutions. They decided decades of prescriptive fire service guidance be changed to a more flexible fire risk assessment approach embedded in the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997. They demanded and got responsibility of implementing the legislation removed from the fire service and placed on the employers.
In essence the report can be seen as excoriating:
• Several governments over the years "ignored, delayed or disregarded" warnings about unsafe building practices.
• Manufacturers of cladding and insulation materials "deliberately hid" how dangerous their products were.
• The way building safety is managed in England and Wales is described as "seriously flawed" and "confusing and broken."
At over 1,700 pages long the report will be digested for some time yet.