You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Grenfell Inquiry suspended due to coronavirus outbreak
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has suspended hearings “until further notice” following the escalation in the country’s response to the growing coronavirus crisis.
In a statement yesterday evening, inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said that continuing would expose those who were required to attend “to an unacceptable risk of infection”.
He added that the inquiry would give “careful consideration” to the possibility of continuing hearings via video link and would provide a further update in due course.
READ MORE
Questions were raised about the possibility of the inquiry being halted earlier on Monday after it emerged that panel member Thouria Istephan, who considers the evidence alongside Sir Martin, had fallen ill. A statement said that she had “symptoms similar to those of COVID-19”.
The inquiry elected to continue with evidence regardless today and had invited submissions from core participants about the next steps, with an announcement due tomorrow morning. It had indicated it would continue with attendance limited to those who were strictly required.
But following the announcement of a tougher lockdown aimed at slowing the spiralling increase of the disease in Britain, the inquiry elected to halt proceedings.
In his statement Sir Martin said: “In the light of the prime minister’s statement this afternoon, the panel has decided that the inquiry should hold no further hearings for the time being. To do so, even on the basis of limited attendance, would be to expose those whose presence is essential for that purpose, not to mention those whom we wish to call as witnesses, to an unacceptable risk of infection.
“It would also send the wrong signal to the world at large at a time when everyone is being urged to co-operate with measures designed to minimise the effect of the virus.
“We very much regret that it has been necessary to take this step and we shall be giving careful consideration to whether it is possible to resume hearings using electronic means, but even if that is not possible the work of the inquiry will continue. We shall keep you informed of developments as they occur and I hope that it will not be long before we can continue taking evidence.”
The inquiry, which launched its second phase in the last week of January, has only been operational again for a fortnight, following a month-long hiatus due to a bid from corporate witnesses for protection from prosecution on the basis of their oral evidence.
This was eventually granted but resulted in a month-long break in the evidence.
The latest delay, which could continue for months, raises the prospect of the oral evidence pushing on into 2022 – some five years after the fire. It is not known how long Sir Martin will need to write his Phase Two report, but completing the report for the first phase, which only examined the night of the fire, ran on for 10 months.
Before the suspension, the inquiry heard evidence from Cate Cooney, a former employee of fire engineer Exova.
