Companies whose products were used in Grenfell Tower will investigated over their “disgraceful mercenary behaviour”, the Deputy Prime Minister has vowed as she announced “tough” new action to be taken on the construction industry. Angela Rayner announced on Wednesday that the Government had formally accepted recommendations made by the inquiry into the deadly fire in Kensington.
The Government said it is accepting in full 49 of the 58 recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick when he published his long-awaited report in September. It concluded the 2017 inferno, in which 72 people died, had been the "culmination of decades of failure" across government and the building industry.
A group representing some of the bereaved welcomed the commitments, but warned it will be paying "close attention" to how they progress. Ms Rayner, wearing a green heart-shaped pin badge, told the Commons: "The manufacturing companies including Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex, whose products were used to refurbish the tower, the report found that they acted with systemic dishonesty, and they mis-sold and they marketed them.
"Their disgraceful mercenary behaviour put profit before people and exploited the regulatory regime to evade accountability with fatal consequences. "And to my disgust and their shame, some have shown little remorse and have refused to even help fix the building safety crisis that they did so much to create.
"Companies must be held to account for their role in Grenfell. “The parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould) is announcing today that she will use new powers under the Procurement Act to investigate Arconic, Kingspan, Saint-Gobain as owners of Celotex at the time, and other organisations. And I expect swift, decisive action and will ensure progress is reported.".
The Government said the remaining nine Grenfell Inquiry report recommendations are being accepted "in principle", with some requiring "further consideration" through consultations. This includes a key recommendation for a single regulator for the construction industry, which the report said had become "too complex and fragmented".
The Government said while it is committed to establishing a single regulator, it does not believe it would be "appropriate" for that organisation to undertake testing and certification of construction products, or issue certificates of compliance. Arguing this would "create a new conflict of interest within the regulator", the Government said it will instead work to strengthen oversight of existing bodies through reforms to the construction products regime.
It has launched a consultation, running until May, on regulatory reform in the sector to "improve public safety, rebuild public trust and ensure the Grenfell Tower tragedy cannot be repeated". The timeline for wider change is set out in phases, with a suggestion some reforms are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 - 11 years on from the fatal fire.
In a lengthy document detailing its wider response, the Government also said it is "committed to exploring further reforms to deliver systemic change to how residents' voices are heard and reliably acted upon". The inquiry report noted how the relationship between Grenfell Tower landlords and residents in the years before the fire was "increasingly characterised by distrust, dislike, personal antagonism and anger".
Ms Rayner added: "We are acting on all of the inquiry's findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.
"That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. "We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.".
Grenfell Next of Kin, a group representing some of the bereaved, said it will be "paying close attention to these words and intentions" from Government, as it repeated criticism of the "grave mistakes, failures, corruption" it said had led to the deaths.
The group added: "We can never forget our beloved kin and we can never forgive the negligence and corruption that led to their deaths. "The injustice is so great and the measures being put in place now with new laws and reforms are welcomed, but should have been basic requirements for a developed country such as ours.
"Nevertheless let's move forward in the right direction.". On the day the final report was published, Sir Keir Starmer apologised "on behalf of the British state to each and every one" of the people affected by the disaster. Speaking in Parliament as some bereaved watched from the Commons gallery, he said the "country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty, to protect you and your loved ones, the people that we are here to serve".
