The UK's Grenfell Tower fire disaster that killed 72 people was the result of "decades of failure" by government and construction industry bodies and the "systematic dishonesty" of building material firms, a damning final report said on Wednesday.
The fire in the early hours of June 14, 2017 spread rapidly through the 24-storey block in west London due to highly combustible cladding fixed to the exterior.
Started in a faulty freezer on the fourth floor, the blaze took barely half an hour to climb to the building's top floor with catastrophic consequences.
The highly-critical report marks the end of a two-part independent inquiry led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick into Britain's worst residential fire since World War II.
Unveiling his findings, Moore-Bick said all the 72 deaths as a result of the fire were "all avoidable" and said the victims had been "badly failed".
Some of those who played a part in the sowing the seeds of disaster had shown "incompetence", as well as "dishonesty and greed", he said.
The report makes scathing criticism of government and other influential bodies over a refurbishment of Grenfell that led to the cladding and other dangerous materials being installed.
In particular the report condemns firms involved in supplying rainscreen cladding panels and other insulation products.
Accusing them of "systematic dishonesty", it said they "engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market".
Following the release of the report, Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged that his government would ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.
"The Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations, to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again," he said in a written statement to parliament.
Comments
Post a Comment