Grenfell: questions over cladding from 2014

MYSTERY SURROUNDS the safety of the cladding used on Grenfell Tower after a BBC investigation revealed that tests had failed to prove it reached safety standards as early as 2014.

Grenfell Tower caught fire in June 2017. A small fire spread rapidly via the external cladding, generating a large fire with such tremendous heat that the tower block turned into a giant furnace. It was also a crematorium: 71 people lost their lives.

Since the fire, various authorities have been combing the trail of how the cladding came to be used. Was it human error – a failing in the management chain in charge of the refurbishment that led to a bad choice of cladding? Or was there a material fault with the cladding itself: in which case, how had it passed safety tests?

This is not just an academic exercise going back over a historic question. Finding out what really happened is urgent, because other flat dwellers with similar cladding do not know if their blocks are safe. Other residents may live in blocks which do not have cladding – but if cladding which is supposed to be safe can turn out not to be safe, what else can go wrong? Can we believe other assurances on safety?

Now the BBC’s investigation has revealed that the cladding used on Grenfell Tower may have been tested as early as 2014 – three years before the fire – and failed to meet the safety standards which the manufacturers claimed it complied with. The BBC has found evidence which appears to show that the manufacturer knew of the failure and did not notify the authorities which certified building materials.

It is to be hoped that now that the BBC has made its evidence public, there will be a proper investigation into this part of the story – and a through inquiry into the building industry to find out if anyone else is up to it. What are they waiting for?

•Read more about it:
Firefighters run for Grenfell children
Grenfell: final death toll is 71

[Adverts]