The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast

Former staff from the insulation manufacturer Celotex admitted that they behaved unethically dishonestly and lied for commercial gain during their work to get a product approved for use on buildings over 18 metres in height.

They admitted they adding a non-combustible material called magnesium oxide to ensure their cladding system passed a fire test and then hid details of that test from certification bodies, customers and even their own staff.

Producer / Presenter: Kate Lamble

The Module 2 opening statements concluded as the cladding manufacturers were accused of abusing their products’ testing and certification processes.

Sam Stein, who represents a group of bereaved, survivors and and residents, said the panel “may well come to the conclusion that the manufacturers, Arconic, Kingspan, and Celotex are little more than crooks and killers.” They outlined how they say the manufacturers set out to manipulate fire performance tests, resulting in unsafe products being sold for use on high rise buildings like Grenfell Tower.

Staff from Celotex, which made the insulation used on the tower, said they were under pressure to raise the company’s profits by bringing a new product to the market. They admitted their marketing material was potentially misleading.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Opening statements of Module 2 of the inquiry. The companies which manufactured the insulation and cladding products used on Grenfell Tower were accused of ‘sinister’ behaviour to distort fire tests conducted on their materials so that their products could be used on high rise residential buildings.

Module 2 of the inquiry will examine how materials used on the tower were tested, approved, advertised and sold.

Stephanie Barwise who represents a group of bereaved, survivors and residents argued that manufacturers knew that the products they were selling were dangerous, yet failed to be candid with organisations which issued official classification certificates, instead viewing them as ‘mere marketing tools’

Expert witness Paul Hyett, charged with investigating the work of architects Studio E, also gave evidence to the inquiry this week.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

The TMO conclude their evidence and the inquiry hears from expert witnesses Dr Barbara Lane & Beryl Menzies.

Peter Maddison, former Director of Assets and Regeneration at the Kensington and Chelsea TMO said he knew meeting contractor Rydon before the conclusion of the tender process was a commercial risk but one worth taking. He also faced questions on the late submission of his diaries and notebooks.

Expert witness Beryl Menzies stated that RBKC Building Control made a fundamental failure by not asking for more details about the cladding material.

And expert witness Dr Barbara Lane said fire safety consultants Exova’s failure to analyse the cladding proposals amounted to professional negligence.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

In October 2019 the Inquiry published its Phase 1 report, and as part of that, the chair of the Inquiry Sir Martin Moore-Bick, made 46 recommendations. They were directed at the government, the London Fire Brigade, fire and rescue and emergency services around the country, as well as landlords and managers of high rise residential buildings.

To help us understand what progress has been made implementing the recommendations over the last 12 months we spoke with two experts in the industry; approved inspector Geoff Wilkinson and fire safety consultant Phil Murphy.

One recommendation in particular, Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for vulnerable residents living in high rise buildings, looks unlikely to be implemented in full. Shahrokh Aghlani explains his family’s legal case to try and ensure this recommendation is applied in full.

Presenter: Kate Lamble

There was a surprising start to the week when it was revealed the TMO's Director of Assets and Regeneration, Peter Maddison, failed to submit evidence to the Inquiry until four days before he was due to be questioned.  It also emerged that Claire Williams from the TMO had ‘binned’ notebooks from her time working on the project.

Peter Maddison admitted talking to the main contractor Rydon about saving £800,000 from the project costs, before the formal results of the tender process were announced.

The inquiry heard how Claire Williams asked the main contractor for details of the fire performance of the cladding system several times.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Staff from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Tenant Management Organisation, which ran Grenfell Tower, gave evidence this week. The Inquiry heard that the TMO broke European procurement rules; they admitted they had secret meetings to discuss savings on the refurbishment and asked the architects Studio E to limit their fees in order to reduce competition in the tender process.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Simon Cash, the Grenfell Tower Project Director at Artelia, told the Inquiry he felt uncomfortable about how part of the project’s tender process to employ a design and build contractor was carried out. He said he was not aware that Rydon, the main contractor, had been told they were in pole position to win the tender before the tender interviews had taken place. Neil Reed, also from Artelia, told the Inquiry that he thought some of Rydon’s work on the refurbishment was poor.

The Inquiry also heard evidence from John Allen, head of Building Control at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. John Allen denied there was a culture of bullying in the Building Control department. He thought John Hoban, who gave evidence last week, had adequate support.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

Evidence at the Inquiry this week was dominated by the first witness from the building control department at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. John Hoban was the building control surveyor responsible for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. He told the Inquiry he was overworked due to funding cuts at the local council. He said he knew nothing at the time about the fire performance of the combustible core to the panels, and that he did not notice incorrectly installed cavity barriers. He admitted that this was below the standard of a reasonably competent building control surveyor.

Installers of the cladding, Osborne Berry, admitted that some of their workmanship such as the incorrectly installed cavity barriers was unacceptable. The Inquiry also heard from Mark Dixon, Director of SD Plastering, responsible for installing the uPVC window surrounds.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble

The Inquiry started this week with evidence from Ben Bailey, Project Manager for cladding specialists Harley Facades. In his mid-twenties at the time, he described how he changed the insulation material used and only carried out site inspections on three sides of the tower.

Jonathan White, a Clerk of Works, told the Inquiry he thought it was his job to check work on the refurbishment was presentable but that it was for building control to check the building complied with regulations.

The Sales Director at the cladding manufacturers CEP - Geof Blades, said he had limited knowledge of what the materials he sold were made of and that he did not check if the design met the building regulations.

Andrew McQuatt, the Project Engineer with Max Fordham suggested insulation for use on Grenfell Tower. He told the Inquiry he did not know it had the potential to be so unsafe.

Presenter / Producer: Kate Lamble