Grenfell final report due for publication today

The final report by the Grenfell Inquiry, examining how a London tower block came to be in a condition that allowed fire to spread so rapidly, will be published today (Wednesday), September 4.

The fatal fire consumed a 24-storey high-rise block of flats in North Kensington, London, in June 2017. It burned for 60 hours. A total of 70 people died at the scene, with the same number injured. Two more later died in hospital.

The inquiry took evidence over a period of four and a half years, and the final hearings were in November 2022. It received more than 1,600 witness statements and held in excess of 300 public hearings.

Cavan headquartered Kingspan said in its Phase 2 closing statements in September 2021 that the local company had “no role in the design of the cladding system on Grenfell Tower, where its K15 product constituted approximately 5% of the insulation purchase for use".

They claim it was “used as a substitute product without Kingspan’s knowledge” in a system that was “not compliant with the building regulations and was unsafe”.

Kingspan strongly agrees with the Phase 1 Report of the Inquiry, which states “the principal reason” for rapid fire spread on Grenfell was the polyethylene cladding panels used.

“Any considered review of the available evidence supports our position that the type of insulation used on the Tower made no material difference to nature and speed of the spread of the fire.”

Where “questions have been raised” about Kingspan’s historical product testing, the business says “new tests” have been carried out, which “provide evidence to support previous fire safety claims”.

The Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service recently stated that no charges would be forthcoming until late 2026 due to the “complexity” of the ongoing investigation into the causes of the outbreak.

Officers gathered more than 27,000 pieces of evidence from the tower itself, where plans for demolition have been delayed.