You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Police will consider whether a crime has been committed after a witness to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry yesterday admitted to binning records relating to the building’s refurbishment a year after the fire.
Claire Williams, who was project manager for the Grenfell Tower refurbishment at Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), revealed at the witness stand that she had binned the notes despite being aware of the public inquiry and police investigation.
She told the inquiry that she was “just clearing her desk”.
The revelations came after it emerged that one of her former KCTMO colleagues had handed over eight day books and five diaries about the refurbishment to the inquiry for the first time on Friday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police (MPS) said: “We are aware of the evidence heard in the public inquiry today in relation to books in possession of witnesses to the inquiry.
“Once the public inquiry has provided material to the MPS, we will review the material to assess its relevance.
“If relevant documentation has been disposed of or withheld from the criminal investigation, the MPS will seek to establish the facts and assess whether a criminal offence may have been committed.”
Ms Williams said she threw away all of her diaries relating to the project, except one, when she left KCTMO in May 2018 – 11 months after the fire.
Pressed about her decision to do so, she insisted there “was nothing underhand about it” and that she believed everything she disposed of “was of little value”.
She added that she had not informed the police that she had binned the documents.
Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivors group, said the news was “devastating” and called for the police to investigate the matter.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry continues.
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