Grenfell fire: Concerns over 'narrow' scope of inquiry
The inquiry judge visits the site of the fire amid doubts over whether his investigation will be wide enough to satisfy survivors.
Saturday 1 July 2017 23:00, UK
A retired judge heading the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire has warned it may not be widespread enough to satisfy all survivors.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick suggested the focus of his investigation would likely be limited to what caused the blaze, why it spread and how it could be prevented in future.
But several residents have expressed misgivings, accusing the inquiry of being too "narrow".
Jamal Williams said: "I think we need to call for a parallel inquiry. There needs to be a separate focus on social housing and systemic failures and I don't know if that is coming out of this."
Amanda Fernandez said she did not have confidence in the investigation.
She said: "We now have a complete lack of confidence in the inquiry's ability to address the history of negligence that led to the fire, nor the authorities failures in the aftermath of the fire."
Sir Martin has travelled to the site of the disaster in north Kensington, and has met those who escaped the inferno.
Afterwards, he said: "I've been asked to undertake this inquiry on the basis that it would be pretty well limited to the problems surrounding the start of the fire and its rapid development in order to make recommendations about how this sort of thing can be prevented in future.
"I'm well aware the residents and the local people want a much broader investigation and I can fully understand why they would want that.
"Whether my inquiry is the right way in which to achieve that I'm more doubtful.
"I will give that some thought and in due course give a recommendation, but there may be other ways in which the desire for that investigation could be satisfied."
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He said he hopes the inquiry will allow lessons to be learned so "a tragedy of this kind never happens again".
The former Court of Appeal judge added that he understands the desire of local people for justice - and said this would best be served by a "vigorous inquiry that gets to the truth as quickly as possible".
Following his appointment by the Prime Minister, Sir Martin, who has more than 20 years' experience as a judge, warned it was crucial for the inquiry to be "open, transparent and fair to all those whose involvement comes under scrutiny".
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He warned it is "impossible to say" how long it will take for interim findings to be published, and warned calls for a preliminary report to be ready in two to three months were unrealistic.
However, Sir Martin did say he would be "disappointed" if his initial assessment was not released within a year.
At least 80 people were killed in the devastating blaze at a west London tower block earlier this month.
According to the latest figures, the cladding on 137 high-rise buildings have now failed flammability tests across 41 local authorities - a 100% failure rate.
Sir Martin is going to work with complete independence from the Government, and he will be supported by civil servants seconded from government departments.
The inquiry is going to be held in public, with findings reported directly to Theresa May.