SIX years ago today, London awoke to the almost unimaginable news that a fire in a north Kensington tower block had taken a terrible toll in human life. The horror of the news — that people in a tall building had been trapped in their own homes to die in the fire — gave rise first to shock, then to anger, as it became clear that what killed them was, above all, the cladding used on the block which ensured that the fire spread with horrible speed. Many people in London live in high-rise buildings; few of them did not think, “what if it happened to me?”
Seventy two months on, the inquiry into the deaths of those 72 people under the chairmanship of Sir Martin Moore-Bick still has not produced a final report and may not do so before next year. This is astonishing. Without a report, without individuals being brought to account for their negligence, misjudgment and wrongdoing, there can be no real closure for the victims’ families. Furthermore, police and the CPS will not prosecute individuals while the inquiry is still underway, although they have interviewed no fewer than 40 people under caution.
