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Grenfell Inquiry should be halted if new panellist not found soon, argue campaigners
The bereaved families and survivors of Grenfell have said they will call for the inquiry to be put on hold if the government fails to add a new panellist soon.
Engineer Benita Mehra was forced to step down as a panellist on the inquiry after it emerged that she had links to the charitable arm of Arconic, the French company that sold the cladding panels used on Grenfell Tower.
However, as the second phase of the inquiry kicks off today, the government has not put a timeframe on when a replacement will be announced.
Grenfell United, the group representing survivors and the bereaved, said: “We have been assured that a new panellist will be added to the inquiry as soon as possible. If that promise looks to be broken in the weeks ahead, we will call for the inquiry to be put on hold.
"We deserve a fair crack at justice and will continue to fight for it.”
Speaking at the start of the inquiry today, Michael Mansfield QC said there had been a “stunning silence” from the government about whether there will be a replacement. He said the replacement should have a “breadth of knowledge in social housing, community engagement and participatory design”.
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News of Ms Mehra’s last-minute resignation emerged late on Saturday. It came after reports that in a previous role as president of the Women’s Engineering Society she helped draft a successful £71,000 grant application to the Arconic Foundation in 2017. Ms Mehra admitted that the link was a “regrettable oversight”.
Arconic is due to give evidence to the inquiry tomorrow.
Grenfell United also attacked the government for failing to do enough to stop a repeat of the fire, which killed 72 people.
“The main purpose of this inquiry is to stop a fire like Grenfell from ever happening again,” the group said.
“It is a bitter pill that three months after the publication of the phase one report, little progress has been made on the findings and recommendations.
“There is still dangerous cladding on buildings and there is no plan B for what happens if ‘stay put’ fails. If a fire like Grenfell happens again, people will die.”
It added: “This inquiry demands families relive the most traumatic moments of our lives. To put people through this without it leading to change is brutal.
“The government needs to stop with review committees and consultations and take action to make people safe.”
In a flurry of announcements last week, the government outlined a number of new measures, including indicating that the height at which sprinklers are required and combustible materials are banned in new residential buildings is likely to be slashed to 11m.
In 2018, the government banned combustible materials on new buildings above 18m.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "It will not be possible to replace Benita Mehra for the start of the phase 2 inquiry. Further details will be released in due course."
