You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Court orders former insulation firm employee to answer Grenfell Inquiry’s questions
A former Kingspan employee has been ordered to provide a witness statement to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, after an “ostrich-like” refusal to answer questions about the testing of the firm’s insulation.
Gareth Mills, who was senior technical advisor at Kingspan from 2002 to 2014, had been asked to answer 89 questions about his work by the inquiry as part of its investigation into the fire that killed 72 people in June 2017.
Kingspan made the ‘Kooltherm K15’ insulation boards that formed a part of the cladding system involved in the devastating blaze.
The inquiry is set to explore the testing and certification of this insulation and the other products used in the cladding system in the second module of its lengthy second phase.
As a technical advisor, Mr Mills was responsible for advising on the suitability of Kooltherm K15, maintaining and expanding its certifications, assessing its performance and offering technical expertise for product testing, a court hearing was told this morning.
READ MORE
But after Mr Mills repeatedly failed to answer the questions, the inquiry served a notice under the Inquiries Act, seeking a court order to force him to comply.
Granting the order, judge Nicholas Mostyn said: “I have reached the conclusion that Mr Mills is not treating this inquiry with the seriousness it deserves.
“I am fully satisfied… that I should make an order that Mr Mills comply fully with the notice that was served on him.”
He added: “I shall not attempt to set out the technical questions posed other than to say that they are plainly highly relevant to the issues that will be scrutinised in phase two.
“The actions of the respondent have largely been that of an ostrich: he has stuck his head in the sand and hoped that it would go away.”
Mr Mills was contacted by Kingspan’s lawyers in August and September 2019 and issued a legal notice in November 2019 requiring him to provide a statement by 20 December.
Kingspan had offered him £10,000 to cover his legal fees and said it would give him access to any documents required to prepare his statement.
But he continued to fail to provide a statement and the inquiry eventually took legal action to compel him to answer.
He provided a partial response – answering the first 22 of the 89 questions without reference to any documents – at close to 11pm last night. But barrister Joanne Clement, representing the inquiry, said his answers were not sufficient.
Kingspan K15 formed a small part of the insulation used in the rainscreen cladding system on the walls of Grenfell Tower, with the majority the ‘RS5000’ product made by rival firm Celotex. Both products are plastic and combustible when burned.
Building regulations in force when Grenfell Tower was refurbished required insulation on high rises to be of ‘limited combustibility’ or used in a system that had passed a large-scale test.
Kooltherm K15 did not meet the standard of ‘limited combustibility’. It had passed large-scale tests, but never in combination with the highly flammable cladding panels it was paired with on Grenfell.
Mr Mills did not attend the hearing and he was not represented. The judge also ordered him to pay the inquiry’s legal fees of £10,236, saying he had behaved in an “uncooperative and foolish way”.
He was given until 26 March to answer the inquiry’s questions.
Speaking after the hearing, Ms Clement said she believed it was the first time such an application had been granted by a UK court.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s second phase resumes on Monday after a one-month break, following the application of several corporate participants for a guarantee that their oral evidence would not be used as part of a future criminal investigation.
This application was granted by the attorney general yesterday, paving the way for the hearings to resume. Mr Mills’ evidence will not be covered by this undertaking as it is written rather than oral.
Module two, which will investigate the issues relating to the testing and certification of materials, was due to run from May until mid-June, although this was before the delay.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry: phase two timeline
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the retired judge who chairs the inquiry (picture: Grenfell Tower Inquiry)
The inquiry will be spread across eight modules, with the below timeline set out at the start of the inquiry:
Module one: 27 January to April 2020
Module one will examine the role, acts and omissions of the professionals involved in the refurbishment of the tower from 2012 to its sign-off on 20 July 2016.
Module two: 4 May to mid-June 2020
This section will examine the testing, classification, certification and marketing of key products used in the external wall, particularly the Reynobond PE 55 cladding panels and the polyisocyanurate insulation made by Celotex.
Module three: June to early October 2020
This will involve three topics: first, the complaints made by residents, particularly those relating to fire safety and the quality of the workmanship; second, the compliance with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 by the council, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation and the London Fire Brigade; and finally, active and passive safety measures in the tower. Closing statements for all the first three modules will then follow.
Module four: mid-October to mid-November 2020
This module will assess the performance of local and national government in the immediate aftermath of the fire.
Module five: mid-November 2020 to mid-February 2021
The firefighting operation will be reviewed in more detail in this section, including an analysis of training and the suitability of equipment.
Module six: February 2021 to May 2021
This module will turn the lens on central government, with a focus on the responses to previous incidents and
reports, coroners’ recommendations and things of that nature – including in respect of the building regulations and associated guidance, as well as fires and firefighting.
Module seven: May 2021
One week has been set aside for an assessment of the remaining expert evidence.
Module eight: timetable to be announced
This will assess any remaining evidence, including an attempt to establish how each of the deceased met their deaths. The bereaved and survivors have been invited to make submissions about other matters, which should be considered in this module.
Sign up for our weekly Grenfell Inquiry newsletter
Each week we send out a newsletter rounding up the key news from the Grenfell Inquiry, along with the headlines from the week
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
