It has taken more than seven years, hundreds of witness statements and thousands of hours of testimony to reach this point. The final report into the Grenfell Tower disaster was published this morning, with ferocious criticism directed at central government, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, construction firms and multinational material manufacturers.
Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick was unsparing. The fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower, which took the lives of 72 people, was “the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry”.
Since June 2017, the family and friends of those who perished have endured not only profound grief, but also an impossibly long wait. And even now, that wait goes on because it could yet take years to secure convictions against companies and individuals found liable for the tragedy. In other words, justice will, to many, feel beyond reach.
Moreover, there remains widespread and well-founded fears that the urgent lessons of Grenfell are yet to be fully assimilated. Only last week, a major fire broke out at a tower block in east London. The building had been undergoing work to have its cladding removed. Grenfell United, a group for the bereaved and survivors of the 2017 disaster, said the incident in Dagenham demonstrated the “painfully slow progress of remediation across the country and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole”.
What matters now is what happens next. Unless and until dangerous cladding is removed from all tower blocks, thousands of people will continue to live in fear as they put their children to bed in what they know to be unsafe buildings. Meanwhile, those who lost loved ones in the Grenfell disaster will be denied the closure they deserve.
To that end, the Metropolitan Police has today promised to pick over the report, line by line, with a team of almost 200 officers to pursue criminal prosecutions against those responsible.
Let that work begin at once, so that this inquiry acts not as a full stop, but a catalyst for justice.
Neverending Storey
Sarah Storey has already been made a dame for her remarkable athletic achievements. Now that she has extended her record-breaking exploits to 18 Paralympic gold medals, the only option for social advancement may be royalty.
With victory in the women’s C5 time trial in Paris, she became Britain’s most successful Paralympian, surpassing Mike Kenny. Friday’s road race provides Dame Sarah with an opportunity for a 19th gold. One would not put it past her.
