Government asked why Grenfell 'crooks' have not been punished

LABOUR PEER AND BEREAVED FAMILIES DEMAND JUSTICE

- By LUCY WILLIAMSON and NICK LESTER

EIGHT years on from the catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died, ministers have been pressed over why “crooks” running a firm that made the cladding on the building are “not behind bars”.

An official inquiry has confirmed that the tower block was covered in combustible material because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms which made and sold the cladding and insulation.

The call by Labour former minister Lord Rooker came after fresh evidence emerged that bosses at US-based manufacturing giant Arconic knew of the dangers posed by the highly flammable material.

The final report of the Grenfell inquiry concluded each of the deaths was avoidable and had been preceded by “decades of failure” by government and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

It also found that victims, the bereaved, and survivors were “badly failed” through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.

Last year inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick condemned the “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data, and misleading of the market.