A recent report on the fire at Grenfell has led to Ministers to be called to the Inquest to give evidence.  It is obvious that they must be called to account. SHP (Safety and Health Practioner) reports that:

“Consecutive governments have been accused of “deliberately covering up” the dangers posed to combustible materials before the Grenfell Tower fire. 

The Grenfell Inquiry has heard of how successive administrations were accountable for “collusion” with the construction industry to suppress the results of investigations into previous cladding fires, including that which occurred at Lakanal House in 2009.  

Last month, Michael Gove admitted to MPs that his department: “will be seen to have, in a couple of occasions, not necessarily appreciated the importance of fire safety and not necessarily done everything in the wake of the Lakanal House tragedy that is should have done”.  

The fire which occurred at Lakanal House, almost a decade before that which occurred at Grenfell, resulted in a coroner, Frances Kirkham, cautioning the government that all parts of a building should be examined in fire safety inspections.  

The coroner also recommended rewriting the guidance that construction firms and architects rely on to ensure they meet the requirements of the building regulations.  

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took power in 2010, but by the time of the Grenfell Tower fire seven years later, the introduction of sprinklers had been shelved due to prohibitive costs.  

There were no changes to fire examinations, and a review of building regulation management had not been completed.  

A barrister representing some of the bereft and survivors at the Grenfell inquiry, said David Cameron should appear before the inquiry over remarks made in 2010, ‘ridiculing’ health and safety, seven years before the fire.”