Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Here’s Where We Are Now After Two Days Of Procedural Hearings<\/b>
\nThe first hearings of the long-awaited inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire have wrapped up after two days of trying to address questions of how survivors and relatives of those who died will be heard.<\/p>\n
The procedural sessions focussed on issues including how documents should be disclosed to \u201ccore participants\u201d, including residents, survivors and relatives of those who died in the blaze on June 14 that killed 71 people.<\/p>\n
But the most emotive issue was whether the inquiry chair should be helped by a panel, drawn from the local community, and what powers it should have.<\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Police revealed its investigation was considering charges of misconduct in a public office, meaning it is looking at whether to prosecute individuals and not just bodies such as the council.<\/p>\n
Peter Weatherby, one of the lawyers representing survivors of the blaze, said the inquiry should move from its central London base in Holborn to \u201ccloser to where the disaster occurred\u201d in Kensington.
\nBarrister Leslie Thomas, who is also representing survivors, gave a passionate speech about why those on the inquiry should be more diverse, contrasting the \u201chomogenised group\u201d of lawyers on it with the victims of whom he said:\u00a0\u201cYou couldn\u2019t get a more diverse group of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fire Brigades Union said it opposed the appointment of a former senior fire officer as an expert witness to the inquiry. Martin Seaward, barrister for the FBU, which has campaigned against cuts and station closures, told the inquiry that Steve McQuirk had supported and implemented changes to the fire service as a chief in Manchester and was always \u201copposite end of the table\u201d to the FBU.\u00a0\u201cHe would strive to show that deregulation, cuts and closures were irrelevant to what happened at Grenfell,\u201d Seaward said.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Michael Mansfield argued aggressively for a panel to sit alongside Moore-Bick that had the power to make decisions, rather than one that merely consults with him. The inquiry chair made comments some thought suggested he favoured the latter option.<\/p>\n
The lawyer representing Rydon, the company that refurbished the tower before the blaze, warned against \u201cunstructured or chaotic\u201d disclosure of evidence. Stuart Catchpole described another inquiry he had appeared before that decided to \u201cto disclose documents almost as soon as they were received\u201d. \u201cIt made it impossible \u2015 I can say impossible \u2015 for anyone meaningfully to get on top of that evidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The inquiry heard evidence that hinted at the sheer size of documents that it would have to consider. By November 8, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had given the police 1,516,427 documents relating to Grenfell, its lawyer told Tuesday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n
The Key Moment<\/p>\n
On Monday, lawyers representing victims of the fire described in emotive terms, with one, Allison Munroe, saying: \u201cWe also have to be very, very much alive to the fact that this disaster happened… within a pocket of one of the richest boroughs in London… That is a reality that cannot be ignored.\u201d\u2033<\/p>\n
But human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield was the most dramatic, calling the fire \u201ca national atrocity\u201d shortly after he stood to speak.<\/p>\n
He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow on Earth, in the 21st century, in one of the richest boroughs of the United Kingdom, can a block like this just go up in flames with so many casualties involved? \u201cI do of course include those who died in the block, but the casualties are far greater than that, that is the people who live<\/a> around the immediate vicinity, but far greater than that, because everyone who lives in a tower block will have been affected by that. \u201cIn fact, everybody has a collective responsibility, and that is the way in which, in a sense, the system was shaken at that point. Everybody said to themselves: well, if it can happen to them, it can happen to me. Therefore, the need to generate and regenerate trust began the moment the fire took place. \u201cBut there is a slight reflection backwards, which I mention at this stage. I know it\u2019s in the list of issues, but this had been predicted, or at least the danger of fire had been predicted. So even before the fire, people who lived in the block – and it\u2019s a very, you have heard, diverse community in its own right – as well as neighbouring blocks had actually made warnings, given warnings of this kind of thing.\u201d The inquiry heard from 19 lawyers, including 10 representing \u2018core participants\u2019 – survivors, residents and bereaved people. They were:<\/p>\n Sir Martin Moore-Bick, Inquiry chair<\/p>\n Richard Millett, counsel for the inquiry,<\/p>\n Danny Friedman, appearing for a group of the core participants<\/p>\n Michael Mansfield, representing 44 core participants<\/p>\n Pete Weatherby, representing 73 core participants<\/p>\n Allison Munroe, representing core participants<\/p>\n Sam Stein, representing core participants<\/p>\n Leslie Thomas, representing core participants<\/p>\n Justin Bates,\u00a0representing core participants<\/p>\n Kate Ellis, representing core participants<\/p>\n Lindsay Johnson, representing tower and walkway residents<\/p>\n James Maxwell-Scott, representing Kensington & Chelsea council<\/p>\n Alice Jarratt, representing the Tenanat Management Organisation that ran the tower on the council\u2019s behalf<\/p>\n Aidan Christie, representing\u00a0CEP Architectural Facades<\/p>\n Stuart Catchpole, representing Rydon<\/p>\n Stephen Walsh, represent the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority<\/p>\n Martin Seaward, representing the Fire Brigades Union<\/p>\n Louis Browne, for the Fire Officers\u2019 Union<\/p>\n Jason Beer, representing the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government<\/p>\n Fiona Murphy,\u00a0appearing for core participants<\/p>\n What happens now?<\/p>\n These hearings were about process. The next sessions will be about evidence.<\/p>\n Sir Martin retired on Tuesday, saying he would respond in writing to what he had heard.<\/p>\n There were hopes the inquiry could produce its first report by Easter but these were dashed earlier this year after the scale of the job ahead was revealed.<\/p>\n The inquiry is set to interview around 500 witnesses, many of whom must give statements first to the police, whose investigation is separate.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking statements from such a large number of people, many of whom have been traumatised by their experience, is a time-consuming, but essential, process which has yet to be completed,\u201d the inquiry said in a statement last month.<\/p>\n There is no confirmed date for the next hearing. Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Here’s Where We Are Now After Two Days Of Procedural Hearings The first hearings of the long-awaited inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire have wrapped up after two days of trying to address questions of how survivors and relatives of those who died will be heard. The procedural sessions focussed on issues … Continue reading Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Here’s Where We Are Now After Two Days Of Procedural Hearings<\/span>
\nWho Gave Statements<\/p>\n
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\nwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/grenfell-inquiry_uk_5a2fc135e4b0461754333033<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"