Corbyn clashes with his MPs over fire probe
LABOUR descended into chaos over the Grenfell fire yesterday after Jeremy Corbyn was forced to slap down MPs who called for the inquiry judge to be sacked.
Chris Williamson, who was appointed shadow fire minister at the beginning of the week, called on Sir Martin MooreBick to quit.
But Mr Corbyn is said to respect the retired judge’s appointment and is not calling for him to go.
Mr Williamson called on Sir Martin to step down because he lacked the confidence of residents.
‘Survivors of this appalling tragedy don’t want him to continue and have called for his resignation,’ the MP claimed in an interview with the BBC. He admitted that he had not spoken to any residents but added: ‘They’re not happy about him, they don’t feel he’s fit for purpose and they don’t think he would be suitably independent.
‘He should step down and if he isn’t prepared to do that then I think the government needs to sack him and find someone else.’
Fellow Labour MPs David Lammy and Emma Dent Coad have also called for Sir Martin to be removed. Mr Lammy said it was a ‘shame’ that a woman or ethnic minority judge could not be found, while Miss Dent Coad said: ‘How anybody like that could have any empathy for what these people have been through, I just don’t understand.’
But Mr Corbyn distanced him- self from the comments, with his spokesman saying that he respected the Lord Chief Justice’s appointment and was not calling on him to stand down.
A party source said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has not called for him to go, but has called for a two-part inquiry, transparency and the full involvement of residents.’
Labour’s response prompted Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to accuse the party of treating the tragedy like a ‘political football’ last night.
Sir Martin had faced criticism after he initially suggested his investigation would be limited to the causes of blaze, why it spread so quickly and how it could be prevented in future.
There were also complaints that his background in commercial law and as a former Appeal Court judge made him the wrong choice to lead the investigation.
However, Sir Martin is now understood to be prepared to consider the ‘broad’ causes of the fire which extends beyond the ‘physics of what happened’.
A source said he was looking to scrutinise issues tracing back to building regulations at the time the block was erected.
No10 backed Sir Martin, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman saying he was a ‘highly respected’ former judge.