黑洞社区

Lawyers for the bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have said products firms Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan carried out 鈥渨idespread and persistent wrongdoing鈥� in the run up to the fire, the inquiry into the disaster has been told.

The next phase of the inquiry began last week after contractors and consultants spent weeks being grilled about their involvement in the June 2017 fire which killed 72 people.

In her opening statement last week, the lawyer for bereaved survivors claimed that testing carried out by one of the companies that made flammable cladding used on the tower was 鈥渃omplete spin鈥�.

Stephanie Barwise (pictured), QC, representing the survivors, criticised Kingspan as well as Arconic, the US manufacturer of the flammable cladding panels, and insulation maker Celotex. The companies still did not believe they did anything wrong, she said.

Yesterday Adrian Williamson QC and Sam Stein QC, representing the bereaved and survivors, said firms and regulators operated in a 鈥渢oxic and incestuous culture鈥�.

The inquiry was shown one email in which a senior executive at Arconic, which made Grenfell鈥檚 polyethylene (PE) core cladding panels, told colleagues that a shortfall in the product鈥檚 fire performance was 鈥渟omething that we have to keep as VERY CONFIDENTIAL!!!!鈥�. In another, he admitted PE panels would spread fire 鈥渙ver the entire height鈥� of a tower.

And Celotex, which made most of the plastic foam insulation installed on the tower, produced an internal presentation in 2014 that announced it would be able to market its combustible product partly because 鈥渘obody understood the test requirements鈥�, the inquiry heard.

Stein said: 鈥淭hese companies鈥�knew their materials would burn with lethal speed and yet they marketed their products into an uncaring and underregulated building industry which spread them around like a disease.鈥�

All three companies have denied wrongdoing. In statements to the inquiry last week, Arconic said the main fault lay with those responsible for the refurbishment, Celotex accused construction professionals of failing to follow building regulations and Kingspan said the outcome of the fire would have been no different if non-combustible insulation had been used.

Yesterday鈥檚 hearing also heard from Samantha Leek QC, representing the 黑洞社区 Research Establishment (BRE), who said the body 鈥渨ishes to express its concern and dismay about the disclosures from both Celotex and Kingspan in respect of misleading information provided to BRE about components and cladding systems tested on their behalf鈥�.

Leek said the BRE had 鈥渘o involvement in the testing or classification of the cladding systems installed on Grenfell Tower before the tragic fire鈥�.

Representing Siderise Insulation, which supplied cavity barriers for the refurbishment, Oliver Campbell QC said in his opening submission the lack of appropriate testing for the type of ACM cladding used in the Grenfell refurbishment was a 鈥渃ollective failure by the construction industry鈥�.

Four employees of Arconic are refusing to give oral evidence to the inquiry because of a French law which prohibits disclosures to foreign courts.

The inquiry continues.