The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, in which 72 people died, was the result of “decades of failure” by the government and the construction industry, according to a damning inquiry report published on Wednesday.
The deaths “were all preventable,” said retired judge Martin Moore-Bick, who led the report, as he released his findings.
“We have lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific ways, through greed, corruption, incompetence and neglect,” said Natasha Elcock, chair of victims’ group Grenfell United.
The government will ensure that this “can never happen again”, promised Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who presented an apology to parliament “on behalf of the British state”.
Seventy-two people died on June 14, 2017, in Britain’s worst residential fire since World War II. It took less than half an hour to spread throughout the 24-storey tower block, occupied by mostly modest families, in an upscale area of west London.
The state body in charge of the tower, KCTMO, acknowledged on Wednesday that it had “contributed” to the tragedy and said it was “deeply sorry”.
But seven years later, victims are demanding a legal response, which is expected to take several more years.
The fire was “a national disgrace,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
– “Systematic dishonesty” –
According to the final investigation report, it is “the culmination of decades of failures by government and other bodies with responsibility for the construction sector.”
The report also highlights the “systematic dishonesty” of building materials companies. They adopted “deliberate strategies (…) to manipulate the testing process, distort data and mislead the market,” the report accuses.
London Fire Brigade firefighters have also been heavily criticised for failing to learn lessons from a previous fire in 2009, which “should have alerted them” to their difficulties “in tackling fires in high-rise buildings”.
Entire families were trapped in the flames at Grenfell Tower, including that of Abdulaziz El-Wahabi, 52, who died with his wife Faouzia, 41, and their three children, the youngest of whom was eight.
Residents who called emergency services were told to stay in their apartments and wait for help. The order was widely criticised but has since been revised.
The first phase of the investigation, published in October 2019, concluded that the façade cladding was the “main cause” of the spread of the fire.
The disaster left many people living in buildings covered with similar cladding fearing further tragedy.
– “Behind Bars” –
Seven years after the tragedy, grieving parents and survivors continue to call for justice, expressing anger at the slow pace of the process. “I want arrests. I want the people responsible for the deaths behind bars,” said Calvin Benson of victims’ group Justice4Grenfell.
“We want justice. I’m here for justice,” Miriam, a fire survivor who lost several family members, said through tears at a news conference.
“We know who is responsible. (…) There is nothing new in seven years,” criticized another woman, who lost three close relatives.
“So far, we have been deprived of justice. This delay has caused us a lot of harm. It has contributed to the denial of our rights,” lamented Karim, whose sister Khadija died in the fire.
Victims want to see involuntary manslaughter charges.
But London police have warned they will not be able to deliver their report until the end of 2025. Prosecutors will then need a year to decide whether to bring criminal charges.
“Due to the volume of evidence and the complexity of the investigation, we will need to take the necessary time (…) before making final charging decisions,” the prosecutor’s office (CPS) warned on Wednesday.
har-ctx-adm/bd/sk
Related News :