The final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report blamed government and construction firms. Matt Wrack commends the public inquiry for finding systemic failures and says ministers must go further
After seven long years the Grenfell Tower public inquiry finally published its report, blaming the fire on the Westminster government, manufacturers and the construction firms that refurbished the building.
The report excoriated the private testing and certification bodies like BRE and BBA, along with industry lobbyists NHBC and others who failed to warn of the risks of flammable cladding and insulation. London Fire Brigade (LFB) failures were due to “a chronic lack of leadership”, while the firefighters who attended the Grenfell Tower fire “displayed enormous courage and selfless devotion to duty”.
THE REPORT
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report is a gargantuan publication – seven volumes, 113 chapters, 1,700 pages and 58 recommendations. The report will certainly set the agenda in our profession for many years to come.
The inquiry found that “the fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry to look carefully into the danger of incorporating combustible materials”.
The report repeatedly criticises the government’s deregulatory agenda, which “dominated the department’s thinking to such an extent that even matters affecting the safety of life were ignored, delayed or disregarded”. The inquiry concluded that “the conflict between the regulatory function of building control and the pressures of commercial interests prevents a system of that kind from effectively serving the public interest”.
DEREGULATION
Deregulation meant freeing markets and increasing opportunities for competition, while lifting supposed administrative and legislative burdens from business. It meant putting profit before safety.
Deregulation was the underlining political philosophy pioneered by the Thatcher government, continued under Blair and accelerated under Cameron. Forty years of deregulation broke the building safety system and left the fire and rescue service on its knees.
Thatcher watered down the building regulations, allowed private “approved” inspectors to assess new buildings, and privatised testing and research facilities like BRE. Blair imposed “modernisation” on the fire and rescue service, removing national standards and weakening enforcement through the Fire Safety Order.
Then Cameron and his friends imposed austerity, sold off the Fire Service College, tried to privatise the whole fire and rescue service and gave chief fire officers a free hand with CRMPs, cuts and empire-building.
LONDON FIRE BRIGADE
The LFB was at the sharp end of this deregulation. They sold off London’s fire engines, handing them to Asset Co, which promptly went bankrupt. LFB’s training was given to Babcocks, which failed to keep incident commanders, firefighters and other staff up to date.
In 2012, LFB came within a whisker of privatising its brand new control room, and then introduced the terrible Vision system into control. Just three years before the Grenfell Tower fire, London mayor Boris Johnson imposed savage cuts, closing 10 fire stations and removing one in 10 firefighter jobs in the capital.
Response times slowed and principal management failed to train firefighters and control staff for the risks they faced.
THE FBU
Uniquely, the FBU opposed deregulation and warned of cladding risks decades before and right up to the eve of the Grenfell Tower fire. As soon as Thatcher came to power, the FBU faced down their plans to wreck the fire and rescue service. The union defended national standards and saw off efforts to water down fire safety laws. The FBU fought off another round of deregulation proposed by John Major.
In 1999, 18 years before the Grenfell Tower fire, the FBU warned the Westminster parliament in writing and with testimony about the risks of flammable cladding. Ministers, senior civil servants and chief fire officers ignored the union and carried on with business as usual. The FBU investigated firefighter deaths in tower blocks, such as Harrow Court in Hertfordshire in 2005 and Shirley Towers in Hampshire in 2010.
The FBU wrote to ministers, warning about procedures, stay put, pre-determined attendance and risk assessment, but was rebuffed. The FBU fought against privatisation and austerity, while defending our members’ pay, pensions and safety. The FBU is therefore vindicated by the public inquiry report in standing up for public safety and our profession.
CHANGE DIRECTION
The inquiry’s recommendations are a good starting point for discussions with politicians at Westminster and the devolved administration. The FBU will engage with the NFCC and others in the sector about a change of direction, to revitalise the service and its workforce. The public inquiry report deserves careful reading, assessment and, where necessary, criticism.
The FBU must have a seat at the table, to stand up for our members, hold politicians and businesses to account, and ensure justice for Grenfell.
