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Grenfell families' fury as inquiry set to take five-week break

The inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is due to restart on Monday - Nick Ansell/PA
The inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is due to restart on Monday - Nick Ansell/PA

Grenfell Tower families have expressed their fury after it emerged the inquiry into the disaster will take a break of up to five weeks, despite months of delays due to lockdown.

Survivors and bereaved families have written to the inquiry’s top official to condemn the “extraordinarily insensitive decision” to hold no hearings between August and September 7.

The break will allow lawyers, witnesses and core participants to go on holiday, after the inquiry - due to restart on Monday - concluded it would not be “fair” to disrupt their plans.

By contrast, criminal courts are planning to hold hearings on weekends, nights and evenings to deal with the backlog of cases caused by the pandemic.

The second phase of the investigation into the blaze, which killed 72 in June 2017, has already been beset by delays after pausing for a month in February due to a protracted legal row.

Edward Daffarn, a Grenfell survivor who infamously predicted the inferno in a community blog, told The Sunday Telegraph that officials had been “entirely uncommunicative” when concerns were raised about the delays.

"For every month and every week and every day that the inquiry is delayed, for the bereaved and survivors justice is being delayed and justice delayed is justice denied, as we know very well,” Mr Daffarn said.

“We can’t move on with our lives, we need to have this resolved.”

Delays to the inquiry have a knock-on effect for the police investigation into the fire, as Scotland Yard does not plan to bring any criminal charges until the process concludes.

Survivors and bereaved families have also criticised new measures to make evidence hearings Covid-secure, as they will now not be able to attend in person to reduce the risk of transmission.

A letter has been sent by Grenfell United, one of the groups representing those touched by the tragedy, to Mark Fisher, the inquiry’s director general, to set out their concerns.

A spokesman for the inquiry said: “The Inquiry has decided to retain the August break because it is aware that a number of core participants, witnesses and legal representatives have made plans to take a holiday in August based on the timetable published some time ago.

“The Panel does not think it would be fair to disrupt their arrangements and has also borne in mind that during school holidays many of them, including the bereaved survivors and residents, are likely to have significant childcare commitments."

They added that the inquiry team had been consulting with core participants about the arrangements for resuming the inquiry since April.