Grenfell fire inquiry head must quit - survivors
Sir Martin Moore-Bick is just days days into the job of leading the inquiry but he has been criticised by a survivors' group.
Monday 3 July 2017 20:19, UK
The judge leading the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire must be replaced, a campaign group has said.
Their concerns came as Communities Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament that all 181 cladding samples from tower blocks tested in the wake of the Grenfell fire have failed safety tests.
Justice 4 Grenfell said it is concerned about the inquiry into the fire, saying that the whole process "must start again".
Former Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick is just days into the job of leading the inquiry but he has been criticised by the group for saying that it may not be broad enough to satisfy survivors.
He said that the inquiry would be "pretty well limited" to examining the causes of the fire, how it spread and how to prevent similar fires in future.
At least 80 people died in the 14 June blaze, with hundreds of other people still unable to return to their homes due to the damage.
Sue Caro, a co-ordinator for Justice 4 Grenfell, said: "We met with one of the public inquiry team last week on Friday and he told us they would start consultation from tomorrow for three weeks.
"However we don't know if that is going to be an exercise, whether it will be meaningful, whether, having done three weeks of consultation, the remit remains exactly the same, we won't know.
"Our view is the whole thing needs to start again - there is no confidence in the process.
"He has already said he doesn't think it is going to satisfy what residents want, why set up an inquiry that you know is not going to do what is required before you've even started?
"People who have had the most awful experience ever are not really inclined to keep giving the Government the benefit of the doubt."
On Monday, Elizabeth Campbell was elected as the new Conservative leader for Kensington and Chelsea council, which is responsible for Grenfell Tower.
Nicholas Paget-Brown resigned following criticism over his response to the fire.
On Sunday, the Government said that .
The protection from prosecution applies to anyone coming to authorities with information about people who were in their flats at the time of the fire.
Anecdotal evidence from residents has indicated that people living in the tower block may have been unlawfully subletting their properties, and that they are reluctant to come forward and report others are missing because of the fear of reprisal.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said: "It is a priority for investigators to establish who was in Grenfell Tower on that tragic day and it is crucial that we do everything possible to support them."
Guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions said that tenants of Grenfell Tower who were subletting their properties and who "come forward to authorities" to share information "should not face prosecution for offences under section one of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013".
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has said it will respect this guidance.