AceBreakingNews – UPDATE – Victims of the Grenfell Tower fire say they are still waiting for justice after a damning report blamed it on “dishonest” companies and a chain of failures by governments BBC Business News with Additional reporting by James kellymdooley@hotmail.com

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Grenfell victims’ names read out as inquiry concludes and Cladding boss denies contributing to Grenfell disaster

A cladding company boss heavily criticised by the Grenfell Tower inquiry has denied playing a part in the disaster. Claude Wehrle, the former head of the technical sales support team at manufacturer Arconic, told BBC News the deaths of 72 people was “a tragedy”. 

He said he was “not the one making decisions” about the sales of flammable Reynobond PE cladding. The inquiry’s final report said Mr Wehrle resorted to “deliberate dishonesty” to sell the product, including to firms in the UK.

Mr Wehrle prompted outrage among Grenfell victims by refusing to give evidence to the inquiry in person, saying he was prevented from doing so by French law. A cladding manufacturer “deliberately concealed” fire risks, while coalition and Conservative governments “ignored, delayed or disregarded” concerns, the six-year public inquiry’s final report concluded. Grenfell United, which represents some of the families, said the inquiry’s report set out how corporate bodies involved were “little better than crooks”.

Natasha Elcock, a spokeswoman for the group, said: “Human life was never a priority, and we lost friends, neighbours and loved ones in the most horrific way – from greed, corruption.”

• Key findings of the report
• Firefighter: ‘I still feel guilty over decision to leave person behind’
• Watch: All Grenfell deaths were avoidable, says inquiry chair
• ‘She was so proud to live in Grenfell Tower’: The 72 people killed by the fire

The fire in the west London tower block in June 2017 left 72 people dead – 54 adults and 18 children.

Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members, thanked the inquiry for its findings but said waiting for its conclusion had prevented prosecutions.

Met responds to publication of Grenfell Tower public inquiry report Police and prosecutors have said that investigators will need until the end of next year to complete their inquiry, with final decisions on potential criminal charges by the end of 2026.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was “imperative” that there was “full accountability” for those responsible – including potential criminal prosecution – as soon as possible.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Those responsible must now be immediately held to account.” Everyone deserves the right to live in a safe home, he said, adding: “The road to justice is still too long and change must be delivered without any further delay.” Ms Elcock demanded the government address the failings without delay, saying police and the Crown Prosecution Service must make sure they held those responsible accountable.

‘Systematic dishonesty’

Council ‘failed’ Grenfell Tower residents says leader

Sir Keir apologised on behalf of the government, saying the disaster should “never have happened”.

Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Elizabeth Campbell, who took on her role shortly after the fire, told the BBC that she accepted all the findings of the report. 

“The first thing I want to do is apologise to the bereaved and survivors’ community for the fact the council failed them,” she said. 

“The council failed them before the fire, the council failed them on the night of the fire, and the council failed them in the aftermath of the fire.

“It failed to keep people safe, it failed to protect people and it didn’t listen, and for all those things I apologise.”

Grenfell United said previous governments had “aided corporations, facilitating them to profit and dictate regulation”, and it called for some of the firms involved to be banned from government contracts.

The group said the report marked a “significant chapter” since the fire but members felt justice had “not been delivered”.

Among the key findings of the report were:

• There was “systematic dishonesty” by the manufacturers of cladding and insulation

• US firm Arconic, manufacturer of the Reynobond 55 cladding which experts at the inquiry said was “by far the largest contributor” to the fire, deliberately concealed the true extent of the danger of using its product

• Manufacturers made “false and misleading claims” over the safety and suitability of insulation to the company which installed it on Grenfell

• There was a “chronic lack” of leadership at the London Fire Brigade, including too much emphasis on process and an “attitude of complacency”

• The government and others failed to give proper consideration to the dangers of some kinds of cladding over decades

• The local council and the Tenant Management Organisation had a “persistent indifference to fire safety, particularly the safety of vulnerable people”

• How building safety is managed in England and Wales was “seriously defective”.

Inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said the deaths had been “all avoidable” and the tower’s residents had been “badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways”. Not all of the named organisations and companies, he added, bore the “same degree of responsibility for the disaster”, with some showing “dishonesty and greed” while others were simply incompetent.

The report said Arconic had concealed the results of fire tests which revealed very poor ratings for cladding installed as folded cassettes.In response to the report, Arconic rejected “any claim” that its subsidiary Arconic Architectural Products had “sold an unsafe product”.

The inquiry also found fault with Celotex and Kingspan, which both made insulation.

Celotex said it had “reviewed and improved” process controls, quality management and its approach to marketing.

Kingspan said it had “long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part” of its UK insulation business.

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Roe said the fire service was “not complacent” and would continue to act on the inquiry’s findings.

Opposition leader and former PM Rishi Sunak said the report was a “damning indictment of over 30 years of successive state failures” which painted a picture of “systemic indifference” and “failure” and, in some cases, “dishonesty and greed”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “criminality must be investigated, tried and punished”, be it “corporate manslaughter, fraud or misconduct in public office”.

Emma O’Connor, who was on the 20th floor before she escaped the fire, said she was glad the inquiry had laid the blame “where it’s supposed to be”.

Describing the mood in the room as the chair delivered the remarks, she said: “It was quiet, as usual, as it’s a court setting, but there were also a lot of silent tears.

“You just want to grab some of your neighbours and tell them, ‘It’s going to be alright.’”

Echoing a sentiment expressed by many survivors and those left bereaved, she said: “The real fight continues”.

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