Grenfell judge must be free to do his job

EVER since retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick was selected to head the Grenfell Tower inquiry, the Left has been trying to undermine him.

Within 24 hours of his appointment, Labour was calling for him to stand down. Ex-minister David Lammy claimed that as a ‘white upper-middle class male’, who knew nothing of life in a tower block, he couldn’t possibly come to fair conclusions. Local MP Emma Dent Coad said Sir Martin was a ‘technocrat’ who lacked credibility and should be replaced by ‘somebody we can trust’. What she meant, of course, was somebody who agreed with her party’s twisted narrative that austerity cuts and Tory disregard for the poor were somehow to blame for the tragedy.

Yesterday it was the turn of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to try to erode confidence in the inquiry, by announcing its own parallel investigation to ensure possible human rights violations are not ‘overlooked’. It will use the evidence heard by Sir Martin and even intends to publish its own set of recommendations.

The underlying message is clear – this inquiry is an Establishment stitch-up, which will not deliver justice to the victims.

But why did the EHRC have to make this announcement now? Wouldn’t it have been better to see what Sir Martin’s conclusions were first, before casting doubt on them?

There is something deeply distasteful about playing politics with human grief and the way the Left has tried to hijack this inquiry is shameful. It began before the Grenfell smoke had even subsided – when shadow chancellor John McDonnell described the deaths as murder – and has continued ever since.

The most pressing concern is to establish how the fire started and spread so quickly, then work out how best to prevent such a tragedy ever happening again. This needs to be done calmly and methodically by someone with a forensic mind and a wealth of experience – someone exactly like Sir Martin.

For the sake of those who died, the survivors and the many thousands still living in high-rise accommodation, he should be allowed to get on with his work unhindered. Instead of undermining him, the EHRC and Labour should get behind him in this vital mission.