Firm paid £11m... to keep flats safe

THE bosses of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation face a catalogue of questions over the disaster.

The firm, responsible for the safety and maintenance of Grenfell Tower and other council properties, was paid £11million of taxpayers’ money last year.

Experts say the firm could be prosecuted but Robert Black, KCTMO’s handsomely paid chief executive, has said he had ‘no expectation this would happen’.

Residents behind the Grenfell Action Group blog say they complained countless times about conditions in the block and claim KCTMO was incompetent. Tenants have criticised ‘absolutely appalling service’ and ‘rude, impatient, obnoxious’ staff.

Siobhan Rumble a former manager who now works for Guildford Council, was accused of ‘ruthlessness’. One resident protested she would ‘rather take you to court over £100 rent arrears than provide the... basic amenities you need’.

Reg Kerr-Bell, a former chairman of the company, walked away from KCTMO after he was ‘disturbed by its incompetence’. The company has admitted ‘concerns have been raised historically by residents’.