Day one of the Grenfell inquiry and already the survivors are heckling judge...
ANGRY survivors from the Grenfell Tower fire yesterday turned on the judge leading the public inquiry into the tragedy.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick was accused of being ‘disrespectful’ to victims and their families after he ignored questions from a prominent lawyer representing some of the survivors.
He was heckled as he walked out of the preliminary hearing of the inquiry – held exactly three months after the deadly fire on June 14 – as Michael Mansfield QC attempted to ask him to hold an extra meeting with survivors.
In an hour-long address, Sir Martin had pledged his inquiry ‘can and will provide answers’ for the families whose lives were changed by the disaster which killed at least 80 people in west London.
The former Court of Appeal judge said he would not shrink from making critical findings and recommendations about any failures which may have contributed to a tragedy he said was ‘unprecedented in modern times’. But he refused calls from survivors for Grenfell residents to be included in his panel of advisers, saying he had to remain impartial. Sir Marfew tin had made it clear he would not answer questions after his speech and left as Mr Mansfield shouted his question from the packed audience at the Grand Connaught Rooms in central London.
As it became clear the inquiry chairman was leaving, residents and campaigners shouted ‘Hello?’ and ‘Rubbish’ at his departing back.
Mr Mansfield said he had intended to ask Sir Martin to meet with survivors to discuss their ‘reservations and concerns’ about the inquiry process, and said the chairman’s decision to ignore him was ‘disrespectful to survivors’.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the fire, said Sir Martin should have listened to victims. He said: ‘I thought it was quite upsetting. It’s just two seconds of your time, just listen. You don’t have to ignore them.’
Other survivors had gathered in Notting Hill Methodist Church where the hearing was relayed in the shadow of the tower. A walked out early and one called the inquiry a ‘whitewash’.
Mouna El Ogbani, 42, who escaped from the 11th floor with her three children and husband, said she was disappointed at Sir Martin’s decision not to appoint a member of the Grenfell community to his advisory panel.
She said: ‘We are a multi-cultural and multi-national community and he needs to represent that. If the inquiry is not made more diverse the victims and survivors will start to boycott it. We need to have faith in the process.’ Resiopulent dents and campaigners had previously threatened to boycott the inquiry if they were not represented, either by a survivor or a member of the local community in North Kensington.
They criticised the appointment of Sir Martin, saying he was out of touch with the residents of Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey block which housed many low-income council tenants.
Critics also questioned the decision to hold yesterday’s hearing in the Grand Connaught Rooms, an venue bedecked with crystal chandeliers. Emma Dent Coad, the Labour MP for Kensington, said: ‘I thought it was quite inappropriate and set the tone between the “us and them” aspect.’
Police investigating the tragedy have said they believe there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect Kensington Council and its tenant management organisation may have committed offences of corporate manslaughter. The inquiry will run separately from that investigation and is due to start hearing evidence at the end of this year. Sir Martin said he wanted to file a preliminary report by Easter.
The first phase will focus on the immediate cause of the fire and how it spread so rapidly, and the fire brigade’s response, including advice to residents to stay inside their homes. The second phase will examine the design of the tower and its recent refurbishment – including the installation of cladding blamed for the rapid spread of the blaze.
‘It was quite upsetting’