Grenfell Tower’s “rebel residents” will finally testify on Monday at the public inquiry into the disaster, delivering evidence about what their lawyers have claimed was “indifference and hostility” from their council landlord.
After more than 200 days of evidence from firefighters, builders, cladding manufacturers and safety experts, seven survivors from the 2017 blaze that killed 72 people will be cross-examined about how they were treated by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and its arm’s-length tenant management organisation (TMO) during the disastrous refurbishment.
The residents will advance their argument that there was “a culture of neglect” in the borough and the coming days are likely to be the closest the inquiry comes to examining political decision-making by the Conservative-run council in the run-up to the disaster. The TMO’s builder, Rydon, internally described those who raised concerns as “rebel residents”.
A key witness will be Edward Daffarn, the 16th-floor resident who predicted the disaster on a blog months earlier and was accused within the TMO of “scaremongering”.
In a blogpost published in November 2016, he wrote: “Only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation.”
Seven months later Daffarn escaped from thick smoke with the help of firefighters. He is expected to detail how his persistent complaints to the TMO and council were handled. His lawyer Danny Friedman QC last week described the TMO as a “non−functional, amoral organisation that was and is more interested in its reputation than keeping people safe”.
In a statement to the inquiry before Easter, the TMO said it “doesn’t accept that it ever adopted a dismissive attitude towards residents or their complaints and concerns”. It suggested Daffarn was unrepresentative of the wider Grenfell community and claimed his Grenfell Action Group blog had “soured” the landlord-tenant relationship.
It also said it acknowledged “the immense tragedy” of the fire and expressed “profound sympathies and condolences to the bereaved, survivors and residents”.
In a statement before the hearings, the families group Grenfell United said it was “a disgrace that our litany of complaints over health and safety were ignored, and that we were smeared as ‘rebel residents’.
“This is one example of a chronic lack of respect for people living in social housing, many of whom are vulnerable, who have fought for their right to safe homes. Our taking a stand in this part of the inquiry to detail this mistreatment has been long overdue.”
Emma O’Connor, a disabled woman who relied on crutches but lived on the 20th floor, will be among the witnesses. During the cladding installation, her husband, Luke, asked the builders if the insulation was fire retardant and was told it passed all the fire safety tests. The inquiry has already heard the insulation manufacturers manipulated the test system in a way that misled the market about safety.
Another witness will be Youssef Khalloud, who lived on the 11th floor with his wife and three children. They escaped through thick black smoke at 1.28am but lost several family friends including five members of the El Wahabi family.
The inquiry will also hear from Lee Chapman, a leaseholder who lived on the 22nd floor, who complained to the TMO about the wind coming through gaps in the new windows which looked as if they had been “shoved on quickly”. He was away on work when the fire struck but his wife, Naomi, who survived, was home and he spoke with her on the phone.
“I was quite clear in my head she wouldn’t get out alive,” he told the inquiry in an earlier statement. “I remember thinking: do I tell her to jump out of the window so she doesn’t have to suffer?”
Another key witness will be David Collins, who rented a 21st-floor flat, and chaired the Grenfell Compact – a form of residents’ association for the tower. He was considered “a problem” by the TMO when he questioned the quality of the installation of the cladding panels.
Michael Mansfield QC, representing other residents, has alleged RBKC “created a chronic culture of neglect, of indifference and discrimination underpinned by a theme of dishonesty”.
RBKC’s then leaders are scheduled to testify next month. RBKC has issued repeated apologies and said it “could have and should have done more to stop [the disaster] happening”.
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After more than 200 days of evidence from firefighters, builders, cladding manufacturers and safety experts, seven survivors from the 2017 blaze that killed 72 people will be cross-examined about how they were treated by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and its arm’s-length tenant management organisation (TMO) during the disastrous refurbishment.
The residents will advance their argument that there was “a culture of neglect” in the borough and the coming days are likely to be the closest the inquiry comes to examining political decision-making by the Conservative-run council in the run-up to the disaster. The TMO’s builder, Rydon, internally described those who raised concerns as “rebel residents”.
A key witness will be Edward Daffarn, the 16th-floor resident who predicted the disaster on a blog months earlier and was accused within the TMO of “scaremongering”.
In a blogpost published in November 2016, he wrote: “Only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation.”
Seven months later Daffarn escaped from thick smoke with the help of firefighters. He is expected to detail how his persistent complaints to the TMO and council were handled. His lawyer Danny Friedman QC last week described the TMO as a “non−functional, amoral organisation that was and is more interested in its reputation than keeping people safe”.
In a statement to the inquiry before Easter, the TMO said it “doesn’t accept that it ever adopted a dismissive attitude towards residents or their complaints and concerns”. It suggested Daffarn was unrepresentative of the wider Grenfell community and claimed his Grenfell Action Group blog had “soured” the landlord-tenant relationship.
It also said it acknowledged “the immense tragedy” of the fire and expressed “profound sympathies and condolences to the bereaved, survivors and residents”.
In a statement before the hearings, the families group Grenfell United said it was “a disgrace that our litany of complaints over health and safety were ignored, and that we were smeared as ‘rebel residents’.
“This is one example of a chronic lack of respect for people living in social housing, many of whom are vulnerable, who have fought for their right to safe homes. Our taking a stand in this part of the inquiry to detail this mistreatment has been long overdue.”
Emma O’Connor, a disabled woman who relied on crutches but lived on the 20th floor, will be among the witnesses. During the cladding installation, her husband, Luke, asked the builders if the insulation was fire retardant and was told it passed all the fire safety tests. The inquiry has already heard the insulation manufacturers manipulated the test system in a way that misled the market about safety.
Another witness will be Youssef Khalloud, who lived on the 11th floor with his wife and three children. They escaped through thick black smoke at 1.28am but lost several family friends including five members of the El Wahabi family.
The inquiry will also hear from Lee Chapman, a leaseholder who lived on the 22nd floor, who complained to the TMO about the wind coming through gaps in the new windows which looked as if they had been “shoved on quickly”. He was away on work when the fire struck but his wife, Naomi, who survived, was home and he spoke with her on the phone.
“I was quite clear in my head she wouldn’t get out alive,” he told the inquiry in an earlier statement. “I remember thinking: do I tell her to jump out of the window so she doesn’t have to suffer?”
Another key witness will be David Collins, who rented a 21st-floor flat, and chaired the Grenfell Compact – a form of residents’ association for the tower. He was considered “a problem” by the TMO when he questioned the quality of the installation of the cladding panels.
Michael Mansfield QC, representing other residents, has alleged RBKC “created a chronic culture of neglect, of indifference and discrimination underpinned by a theme of dishonesty”.
RBKC’s then leaders are scheduled to testify next month. RBKC has issued repeated apologies and said it “could have and should have done more to stop [the disaster] happening”.
Continue reading...