Criminal focus on suspect cladding in Grenfell fire
BRITAIN: The cladding fitted to the outside of Grenfell Tower will be the focus of a criminal investigation into the fire suspected of killing more than 58 people, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said yesterday.
He said hundreds of panels used to cover 300 square metres of the west London tower contained a plastic banned in Britain for use on high-rise buildings. His comments conflict with the panels’ supplier, who insisted the Reynobond PE panels were legal.
The investigation, to run alongside a separate public inquiry, will examine whether building regulations were breached in the £8.6 million (NZ$15.1m) refurbishment of the block which was completed last summer.
‘‘My understanding is the cladding in question, this flammable cladding which is banned in Europe and the US, is also banned here,’’ Hammond said.
‘‘So there are two separate questions. One, are our regulations correct, do they permit the right kind of materials and ban the wrong kind of materials? The second question is were they correctly complied with?
That will be a subject that the inquiry will look at. It will also be a subject that the criminal investigation will be looking at.’’
Greg Hands, the new minister for London, echoed Hammond, saying the police investigation into the fire was examining both the cladding and how it was attached. ‘‘That is part of the urgent investigation that is under way, that won’t wait for the public inquiry, in terms of whether the cladding played a key role.’’
He added: ‘‘My understanding is that the cladding that was reported is not in accordance with UK building regulations . . . however, what we do need to find out is precisely what cladding was used and how it was attached.
‘‘That is one of the purposes of the urgent investigation led by the police in conjunction with the Fire Service and the Health and Safety Executive.’’
Reynobond PE aluminium panels are forbidden on tall buildings in America and in Europe under fire safety rules because of their plastic core.
British regulation states that, in buildings taller than 18 metres, any insulation product used in external wall construction should be of ‘‘limited combustibility’’.
The definition of limited combustibility material in the building regulations covers two pages and uses jargon such as ‘‘thermocouple’’ and ‘‘flame spread’’. It does not specify whether an aluminium panel with a polyethylene core would be prohibited.
John Cowley, managing director of CEP Architectural Facades, which fabricated the rainscreen panels and windows for Grenfell Tower’s cladding sub-contractor Harley Facades Ltd, said that Reynobond PE could be used ‘‘in both low-rise and high-rise structures’’.
‘‘Reynobond PE is not banned in the UK. The key question now is whether the overall design of the building’s complete exterior was properly tested and subsequently signed off by the relevant authorities including the fire officer, building compliance officer and architect before commencement of the project,’’ Cowley said.
David Lammy, the Tottenham MP, called on Prime Minister Theresa May and the police to seize all relevant Grenfell Tower documents amid concerns among residents of a coverup.
‘‘We need action to make sure that all records and documents relating to the refurbishment and management are protected,’’ he said.