PM: Grenfell inquiry chairman will seek ‘justice for all victims’
Theresa May said “no stone will be left unturned” by the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy as she confirmed it will be led by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-bick.
The Prime Minister told MPS she expects Sir Martin will “want to produce an interim report as early as possible” to address the immediate lessons that need to be learned from the disaster.
Mrs May said: “I am determined that there will be justice for all the victims of this terrible tragedy and for their families who have suffered so terribly.”
Sir Martin, who specialised in commercial law in a legal career spanning nearly 50 years, will look into the circumstances of the blaze which killed at least 80 people in west London earlier this month.
His appointment was recommended by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and Mrs May said Sir Martin is “highly respected and hugely experienced”.
In a written statement to Parliament, the Prime Minister said Sir Martin will consult survivors and victims’ families about the scope of his inquiry.
She said: “The immediate priority is to establish the facts of what happened at Grenfell Tower in order to take the necessary action to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again. But beyond that immediate focus it is also important that all the wider lessons from both this catastrophe, and the inspections of other buildings around the country that followed it, are identified and learnt.
“Before the inquiry starts Sir Martin will consult all those with an interest, including survivors and victims’ families, about the terms of reference. Following that consultation he will make a recommendation to me.
“I will return to Parliament with the final terms of reference once this process has taken place. Then the inquiry will begin its work.
“We must get to the truth about what happened. No stone will be left unturned by this inquiry, but I have alsobeenclearthatwecannot wait for ages to learn the immediate lessons and so I expect the chair will want to produce an interim report as early as possible.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan expressed concerns that the inquiry could take years.
He said: “An interim report should be published over the summer, so that we can start to get urgent answers to the many issues arising out of this tragedy.”