The seven-year public inquiry into the circumstances that led to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 has released its final report, concluding that “decades of failure” by central government in tandem with the “systematic dishonesty” of private companies led to the disaster.

The inquiry’s chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, slammed the firms Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex for engaging in “deliberate and sustained strategies to… mislead the market”.

As well central government and the cladding firms, the report heavily criticises the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s building control department, builders Rydon and Harley Facades, and the architects Studio E, all of whom Sir Martin said had responsibility for the fire which killed 72 people.

Reacting to the report’s publication, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said:“The publication of today’s inquiry report is a significant milestone for those deeply affected by the tragedy. The thoughts of the Met are especially with the bereaved, survivors and residents as well as the wider Grenfell community. We remember with much sadness all those who lost their lives.

“The report is direct, comprehensive and reaches clear conclusions.

“Our police investigation is independent of the public inquiry. It operates under a different legal framework and so we cannot simply use the report’s findings as evidence to bring charges.

“To secure justice for those who died and all those affected by the fire we must examine the report – line by line – alongside the evidence from the criminal investigation. As I said previously, this will take us at least 12-18 months.

“This will lead to the strongest possible evidence being presented to the Crown Prosecution Service so they can make charging decisions.

“I can’t pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on the bereaved and survivors, but we have one chance to get our investigation right.

“We will be thorough and diligent in our investigation while moving as swiftly as possible. We owe that to those who died and all those affected by the tragedy.”

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “On this day, our thoughts remain with the 72 people who lost their lives, the survivors, their families, and the entire Grenfell community. We must never forget the impact the tragedy has had on that community.

“On the night of the fire, the Brigade faced the most formidable challenge that any fire service in the UK has confronted in living memory. Staff responding to the fire on the night of the tragedy, as well as members of other emergency services who attended in support of the Brigade, showed extreme courage in the face of the most appalling of circumstances.

“In 2019, the Brigade accepted every recommendation from the Phase 1 Report and we have since implemented significant changes to how we operate. This year, we completed every recommendation directed at us as part of Phase 1. We have introduced important policies, new equipment, improved training and better ways of working, particularly in how we respond to fires in high-rise residential buildings, and Londoners are safer as a result. This was evidenced at the awful fire in Dagenham late last month.

“While we are now better prepared to respond to high-rise fires, we are not complacent. We are in dialogue with the Government and Mayor of London as we all look at what must be done to ensure that buildings in London are safe. We will continue to collaborate with them, advocating for improved standards in the built environment to ensure greater safety.

“We recognise the importance of the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations. We will set out an action plan, detailing our response to each recommendation, in due course. This will be developed following consultation and in collaboration with the Grenfell community and our Community Forum.”

Campaign group Grenfell United, which is made up of survivors and bereaved families from the fire, said: “Today marks the conclusion of a painful six years listening to the evidence of the deaths of 54 adults and 18 children, our loved ones, neighbours and friends. It is a significant chapter in the journey to truth, justice and change.

“But justice has not been delivered. The inquiry report reveals that whenever there’s a clash between corporate interest and public safety, governments have done everything they can to avoid their responsibilities to keep people safe. The system isn’t broken, it was built this way.

“It speaks to a lack of competence, understanding and a fundamental failure to perform the most basic of duties of care.

“The recommendations published today are basic safety principles that should already exist, highlighting how the government’s roles, duties and obligations have been hollowed out by privatisation.

“Where voids were created as the government outsourced their duties, Kingspan, Celotex and Arconic filled the gaps with substandard and combustible materials.

“They were allowed to manipulate the testing regimes, fraudulently and knowingly marketing their products as safe.

“Sir Martin Moore-Bick has laid bare his mistrust in the building industry – no single publication like approved document B should subsequently be used as a means to regulate fire safety and to keep the public safe.

“The government knew this was no way to regulate. It was there to be exploited.

“Our lawyers told the Inquiry that the corporate core participants – Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex – were ‘little better than crooks and killers’. The report makes clear that this statement is entirely true.

“We were failed in most cases by incompetence and in many cases by calculated dishonesty and greed.

“The duty of government should be to safeguard life, whilst protecting us from corporate greed. But for too long, they have aided corporations, facilitating them to profit and dictate regulation.

“It is a damning indictment of this country that amateurs (like Carl Stokes and Brian Martin) can pose to be experts, putting countless lives at risk and taking the lives of our loved ones.”

“There’s a reading of the inquiry hiding in plain sight that speaks to both the damage done to Grenfell Tower and the wider damage done to Britain.

“It’s a serious problem for the whole country when governments invite corporations to write their own rules.

“The government must now exert control over the sector to prevent further dismantling of public safety, which used to be understood as their primary job, not aiding and abetting crooks and killers.

“To prevent a future Grenfell, the government needs to create something that doesn’t exist: a government with the power and ability to separate itself from the construction industry and corporate lobbying, putting people before profit.

“Over and above all, the judge concludes what we already knew, that every single loss of life was avoidable.

“We expect this government to break old habits and implement all of the recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore Bick from the Inquiry report without further delay, because the time to address this is already three decades too late.

“We are calling on the government to ban Arconic, Kingspan, Celotex and Rydon from central or local government procurement processes. And finally start acting in the British public’s interest.

“We have an expectation that the Met Police and the CPS ensure that those who are truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice.

“We must never forget that at the heart of this Inquiry report is the fact that 72 people lost their lives.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “For more than seven long years, the bereaved, survivors, residents and local Grenfell community have shown unrelenting strength, dignity and courage in the fight for justice. We all owe them a debt of gratitude. Whilst the publication of the second phase of the Inquiry is an important step on this journey, it is not the end. Those responsible must now be immediately held to account for their systematic dishonesty, corporate greed, institutional indifference and neglect. Companies found to have been to blame by the Inquiry must no longer receive any public contracts, as the police and CPS look into the bringing of criminal charges.

“Everyone deserves the right to live in a safe home – a right denied to the residents of Grenfell Tower. Until we can say with confidence that the failings that led to this disaster can never be repeated, many of the bereaved, survivors and residents will never feel that that they can truly rest. They are not alone. The road to justice is still too long, and change must be delivered without any further delay.”

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “This report will have huge significance for the way housing operates in the future. But it must also act as a moment of reflection for the whole country.

“The survivors and bereaved families who provided such vital evidence throughout the Inquiry should be commended; their voices are clearly heard in this report which is testament to how it has been produced. Everyone at our service is tirelessly committed to fulfilling our role under the Social Housing Regulation Act to deliver change.

“Integral to these findings are respect and trust – and the principles of transparency and accountability. It is clear residents’ complaints were dismissed and devalued.

“Whilst there are technical failings detailed in the report, the gross imbalance of power and dismissal of residents is striking. These are some of the issues we still encounter in our investigations and highlighted in our recent systemic report on attitudes, respect and rights. It identified the need for human-centric provision of services by landlords.

“There is a wider societal change that needs to take place towards those living in social housing, stopping the stigma towards this important tenure. This starts with the investment needed so that landlords can deliver services that meet residents’ needs and are able maintain social homes in a way that is responsible and ensures decency.

“Our work with thousands of residents and landlords has reinforced how the role of a landlord has changed – providing a one size fits all approach to housing and repairs is no longer viable.

“This is evident from the inquiry’s conclusions, with the landlord not fully understanding the needs of the residents they were serving. I see these themes repeatedly in our casework, and remind landlords that complaints hold a mirror up to the quality of service provision and culture of their organisation. Complaints provide landlords with early warning of issues that may be unaddressed, and tackling these can improve relationships and trust between landlord and resident.

“Landlords should rigorously review the complaints they receive to drive learning and create a positive complaint handling culture. Landlords should also ensure they are listening and involving residents in their decision making processes, which was devastatingly absent here.”

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

Dr Anastasia Mylona, Technical Director at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, said: “The findings of the Grenfell Inquiry report are both sobering and a stark reminder of the critical need for transparency, integrity and robust regulation within our industry. As the report highlights systemic failures, CIBSE remains committed to driving the necessary reforms in building and fire safety engineering practices. Our role is to ensure that the highest standards are upheld, and that the safety of residents is always the paramount concern in the built environment.”

Cllr Claire Holland, Chair of London Councils, said: “The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy that shook London to the core and robbed 72 people of their lives in horrific circumstances. On the publication of the Inquiry report, my thoughts are with the 72 people who died, their loved ones, those who lost their homes and the many people living in the local community and beyond who were affected by the fire.

“Seven years on, London boroughs’ commitment to ensuring this never happens again remains unchanged. The publication of the phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is an important step towards this. It must serve as a catalyst for action. The report’s findings are damning and make clear how residents were let down by a broken system that failed at every level, with fatal consequences. Boroughs will be reading this report closely to ensure that we understand its findings in full and take action in response to its recommendations.

“Every Londoner has the right to be safe and feel safe in their home. Since the fire, London boroughs have continued working to improve building safety and overall housing standards for people living in high rise accommodation, but we know there is so much more to do and progress has been far too slow. It’s vital that we drive forward the change we need to see, in partnership with our residents and national government, to ensure this clearly avoidable tragedy is never repeated.”

Mark Elliott, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “We welcome this report and the government’s commitment to consider its recommendations carefully to ensure that such a tragedy can never occur again. Everyone with responsibility for building safety will need to reflect on the implications of the report.

 

“The deaths that occurred in this tragedy were avoidable. The report shows that the people who lived in the tower were badly failed by the institutions which should have ensured their safety.

 

“The report also illustrates the danger of the pursuit by government of a deregulatory agenda to the point where matters affecting the safety of life are disregarded.

 

“Environmental health professionals work with partner services on a daily basis in order to reduce deaths from fire. As the recent fire in Dagenham illustrates, however, there is a great deal more to do.

 

“Our members are committed to improving fire safety in residential accommodation. The need for well organised and properly funded housing regulation, inspection and enforcement is something that must not be ignored.”