Grenfell Tower became a death trap due to ‘decades of failure’, damning investigation reveals

A public inquiry found that Grenfell Tower was turned into a death trap by “dishonest” builders, architects and negligent politicians who ignored fire safety for decades, paving the way for prosecutions in connection with the disaster.

72 residents of the Grenfell Tower lost their lives on June 14, 2017, when a fire engulfed the tower block complex in west London. It was one of the worst disasters in modern British history.

A public inquiry lasting seven years revealed that a pre-fire renovation of Grenfell involved cladding the block with cheap and highly flammable materials while ignoring warnings from Tower residents of impending disaster.

In a devastating report, the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, concluded that the blame for the fatal fire lay with architects, companies involved in the disastrous renovation and the Kensington and Chelsea council.

“The simple truth is that all deaths were preventable,” he said, adding that the failures surrounding Grenfell were due to “incompetence,” “dishonesty” and “greed.”

The renovation prioritized cost savings over safety, while the warning signs of previous high-rise fires were routinely ignored.

And he concluded that the “enthusiastic” pursuit of deregulation under David Cameron's austerity government had trumped the need for fire safety controls across the construction industry.

The Metropolitan Police has now announced that it will examine Sir Martin's report line by line, while a team of almost 200 officers will prosecute those responsible.

But police warned there was only “one chance to conduct our investigation properly” and that charges could not be brought for 18 months.

“The Grenfell Tower fire was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other responsible bodies in the construction industry to carefully consider the dangers associated with the use of combustible materials in the external walls of high-rise residential buildings and to act on the information available to them,” said Sir Martin.

In a written statement to Parliament, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “My thoughts today are with the bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and those living in the immediate area. This day is for them. I hope that Sir Martin's report will uncover the truth they have been seeking for so long and will be a step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”

Grenfell United, which represents some of the fire's bereaved families and survivors, said the report “demonstrates a lack of competence, understanding and a fundamental failure to discharge the most basic duties of care” and called for a ban on construction firms found guilty from receiving government contracts.

Police and prosecutors must “ensure that those truly responsible are held accountable and brought to justice,” they added.

As the fire raced through the high-rise block thanks to the flammable cladding, it spread faster than “a match dropped into a barrel”, the inquest heard. Residents were told to “stay at home” when the fire started and then found themselves trapped in the inferno.

Sir Martin blamed architects Studio E, main contractor Rydon, subcontractors Harley and Exova, and Kensington and Chelsea Council for primary responsibility for the disaster.

“A very important reason why Grenfell Tower was clad with combustible materials was the systematic dishonesty of the manufacturers and sellers of the ventilated facade panels and insulation products,” he said.

“They pursued targeted and persistent strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market.”

He said Studio E had undertaken the renovation with a “cavalier attitude” to fire safety regulations and failed to react when Grenfell's external walls were covered with dangerous cladding, and therefore bore “a very large share of responsibility for the disaster”.

Rydon “did not give sufficient consideration to fire safety and demonstrated a negligent attitude throughout the project,” while cladding subcontractor Harley “in many respects failed to meet the standards expected of a reasonably competent cladding contractor and also bears a significant share of responsibility for the fire.”

Sir Martin also found that from 2005 to 2017, Arconic Architectural Products, the manufacturer and seller of the Reynobond 55 PE ventilated façade panels used in the external walls of Grenfell Tower, had “deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger associated with the use of Reynobond 55 PE in cassette form, particularly in high-rise buildings”.

Celotex, the manufacturer of RS5000, the main insulation used in Grenfell Tower, had pursued “a dishonest plan to mislead its customers and the wider market” about the safety of its products.

Referring to politicians and civil servants, he stressed that the Lanakal House fire in Camberwell, south London, in 2009 was a major missed opportunity to refocus the UK on fire safety, while dire warnings from a coroner and MPs were ignored.

“The government's deregulation program, enthusiastically supported by some undersecretaries and the foreign minister, dominated the thinking of the department to such an extent that even issues affecting the safety of human life were ignored, delayed or disregarded,” he said.

Recalling a 1991 high-rise fire in Merseyside, Sir Martin said there had been “numerous opportunities for the Government to identify the risks posed by the use of combustible cladding and insulation, particularly in high-rise buildings, and to take appropriate action.”

“In fact, the department was aware of these risks as early as 2016, but did not take any action based on its knowledge.”

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's planning authority “failed to fulfil its statutory duty to ensure that the redevelopment plan complied with building regulations. It therefore bears significant responsibility for the dangerous condition of the building immediately after completion of the works.”

The Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which is independent of the council, was viewed by Grenfell residents as an “indifferent and tyrannical overlord who belittled and excluded them, treated them as a nuisance or worse, and did not take their concerns seriously.”

Sir Martin said the TMO had “lost sight” of its role in providing safe places to live and “failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that this role is fulfilled”.

The London Fire Service – which was mentioned heavily in the first inquiry report for its response to the fire – suffered from a “chronic lack of effective management and leadership”, Sir Martin concluded, with problems seen as “not worthy of change or too difficult to resolve”, even when they affected operations or public safety.

Kingspan was found guilty of “cynically exploiting” the building industry's knowledge of insulation by selling its products. The company said its past behaviour was “deeply regrettable” and that it had been addressed, while stressing that its materials were not responsible for the disaster.

Arconic said it “acknowledged its role as one of the material suppliers involved in the renovation of Grenfell Tower” and stressed that it had not concealed any information or misled anyone about its products.