Grenfell survivors furious as inquiry has summer break

GRENFELL Tower families have expressed their fury after it emerged the inquiry into the disaster will take a break of up to five weeks, despite months of delays due to lockdown.

Survivors and bereaved families have written to the inquiry’s top official to condemn the “extraordinarily insensitive decision” to hold no hearings between August and Sept 7.

The break will allow participants to go on holiday, after the inquiry – due to restart tomorrow – concluded it would not be “fair” to disrupt their plans.

Criminal courts are planning to hold hearings at weekends, nights and evenings to deal with a backlog of cases.

The second phase of the investigation into the blaze, which killed 72 people in June 2017, has already been beset by delays after pausing for a month in February due to a protracted legal row.

Edward Daffarn, a Grenfell survivor, told The Sunday Telegraph: “For every month and every week and every day that the inquiry is delayed, for the bereaved and survivors, justice is being delayed and justice delayed is justice denied, as we know very well.”