The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast

This week, the Inquiry examined how central government responded to the aftermath of the disaster while continuing to hear about London-wide emergency response arrangements. The Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea took two days to ask for emergency help from other London councils, after being “leant on”. An email written by then Prime Minister Theresa May contained damning criticism of RBKC’s response, describing their actions as “utter uselessness”. The British Red Cross said there was confusion over responsibilities between them and the council. Meanwhile this week the government announced that it was rejecting two of the recommendations made by the Inquiry back in 2019.

This week, the Inquiry continued to investigate the events immediately after the fire by digging deeper into what happened at local rest centres which were opened to support survivors. An official who volunteered to help with the relief effort described the scene at the largest centre as a shambles, with chaotic scenes, an intimidating armed police presence and a lack of organisation. The authorities tried to send some residents from the walkway flats next to the tower back to their homes, despite them having broken front doors and lacking gas or communal heating. And we heard that at the time of the Grenfell disaster that tower block fires were not included in the official London Risk Register – even though it did mention wildfires and moorland fires.

This week we heard different views from senior managers as to how the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea coped in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. We discovered that the chief executive initially rejected offers of support because he had “great confidence” in the council. And the inquiry heard reports that - on the night after the fire - some residents who had been evacuated from nearby buildings ended up sleeping in their cars or in parks because the council failed to inform them about alternative accommodation.

The Inquiry continued to hear evidence about the immediate aftermath of the fire. Rebecca Blackburn, a former Contingency Planning Officer for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, described scenes inside the town hall as “pandemonium”. Her boss told the inquiry he regrets that he didn’t speak up about weaknesses in the council’s emergency plans and accepted he was too late in making some decisions about the response to the disaster. Survivors and relatives described chaotic scenes trying to find information about their loved ones and callousness in their treatment by the council.

This week, the Inquiry moved on from the technical discussions of the building regulations and the role of central government to focus on the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Bereaved, survivors and relatives gave emotional evidence about their experiences directly after the disaster, saying they were “treated like criminals” with the authorities apparently most concerned about the possibility of rioting. They struggled to find officials on the ground in the hours after the disaster and there was little if any information available about who had died and who had survived. Many said they received poor support, including grossly unsuitable accommodation, causing more trauma. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea admitted to numerous failings including in communication, accommodation and training.

This week, three politicians gave evidence. Eric Pickles, former housing secretary, told the Inquiry that he could not understand how the government’s deregulation agenda could have discouraged civil servants from tightening fire safety standards, describing this as “inexplicable and unjust”. Stephen Williams, the minister responsible for implementing the coroner’s recommendations after a previous tower block fire, admitted he had never read the coroner's original letter. And former minister Gavin Barwell told the Inquiry that his private office didn’t receive key information.   

This week, civil servant Brian Martin completed his evidence after more than seven days. In his concluding evidence, he said that there were several occasions on which he believed he could have prevented the Grenfell Tower fire from happening. And – almost five years on – politicians appeared for the first time. Two former ministers with responsibility for fire safety, Brandon Lewis and Lord James Wharton gave evidence – following calls to ‘bear the brunt of the blame’ – to explain their decisions and policies.

This week, senior civil servant Brian Martin continued giving evidence to the Inquiry. As the only person to testify with experience working for both the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Building Research Establishment, the Inquiry learnt about the intricacies and inadequacies of his role overseeing building regulations guidance. He conceded that he had underestimated the risks posed by cladding used on high-rise buildings like Grenfell Tower, and that he had lulled his peers into a false sense of security over the dangers.

This week, the Inquiry heard from three senior civil servants: Dame Melanie Dawes, the former permanent secretary at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said that she had not been informed about the risk of combustible insulation on high-rise buildings and conceded that the department had systemic failings. Brian Martin, a significant figure who was responsible for the fire safety section of the building regulation guidance, denied accusations of an information “cover up”. Louise Upton, who oversaw fire safety policy, was pressed on why she had resisted mandatory certification for fire risk assessors.

This week, the Inquiry heard about the work culture in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and how Richard Harral, the Head of Technical Policy, was left feeling angry, frustrated and so “deeply ashamed” that he quit three years into the role. The Inquiry also heard from Sir Ken Knight, the government’s former Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor, who was asked why he didn’t react sooner to a tower block fire in 2009. And Dennis Davis, the Executive Officer of the Fire Sector Federation, concluded that “fire safety is often perceived as a burden”.