'No stone will be left unturned' in Grenfell Tower inquiry, says PM

Theresa May has claimed “no stone will be left unturned” by the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy as she confirmed Sir Martin Moore-Bick, a retired judge, would lead the process.

The prime minister expects Moore-Bick will “want to produce an interim report as early as possible” to address the immediate lessons that need to be learned from the disaster.

The appointment, which emerged overnight on Wednesday, was met with doubts over his suitability for the role, given past rulings on controversial housing cases. Moore-Bick was expected to meet residents near the tower on Thursday morning.

“I am determined that there will be justice for all the victims of this terrible tragedy and for their families who have suffered so terribly,” May said.

In the written statement to MPs announcing the appointment, the prime minister said Moore-Bick was “highly respected and hugely experienced”. She added that the inquiry would investigate what happened at Grenfell, where at least 80 people died, and the wider issue of failed tests of flammable cladding around the country.

“Before the inquiry starts Sir Martin will consult all those with an interest, including survivors and victims’ families, about the terms of reference. Following that consultation he will make a recommendation to me,” she said.

“I will return to parliament with the final terms of reference once this process has taken place. Then the inquiry will begin its work.

“We must get to the truth about what happened. No stone will be left unturned by this inquiry, but I have also been clear that we cannot wait for ages to learn the immediate lessons and so I expect the chair will want to produce an interim report as early as possible.”

In a statement, Moore-Bick said the inquiry would “discover the truth about what happened at Grenfell Tower, so that we can learn lessons for the future and ensure that a tragedy of this kind never happens again”.

He went on: “It is vitally important that the inquiry be open, transparent and fair to all those whose involvement with Grenfell Tower comes under scrutiny. It is important for everyone that the inquiry should establish as quickly as possible the cause of the fire and how it was able to spread so quickly to the whole of the building.”
The judge said it was vital that families of victims and local residents were kept involved in the process. I understand the desire of local people for justice; justice for them, and for all those involved in whatever way, will best be served by a vigorous inquiry that gets to the truth as quickly as possible,” he said.

“The inquiry will consider evidence from all parties involved, including victims and their families. The chair will work with complete independence from the government, supported by civil servants seconded from government departments.”

Moore-Bick was due to meet a representative group at a private meeting at 10am in the shadow of the charred tower before his appointment is officially confirmed by the government.

His appointment is already being questioned over his 2014 decision to allow Westminster council to rehouse a tenant 50 miles away from her home in Milton Keynes.

One of the residents who was due to meet Moore-Bick said it was an “impossible task” for the former judge to overcome the mistrust in the community in the wake of the fire.

The resident, who did not want to be named, said: “He’s meeting with residents and then survivors. It is not necessarily a representative group, it is as representative as we could make it at six or seven hours’ notice. He’s coming to us. He will see the tower this morning. He clearly doesn’t want journalist and protesters hanging around; that would be unhelpful at this stage.”

Asked about the Westminster judgment, which some branded “social cleansing,” the resident said: “Every judge has a judgment which can be held against them.”

He added: “I think he has got an impossible task with a proportion of the residents on the estate. You are dealing with a lot of people who have been disempowered and have absolutely no faith that anybody will respond.”

Labour MP David Lammy, who lost a friend in the fire, tweeted: “I wonder if Sir Martin Moore-Bick has ever visited one of our inner city tower blocks. If not, I hope that he will do so soon.”

He later deleted the tweet. Labour MP, Lisa Nandy drew parallels with troubled start to the child abuse inquiry, which was chaired by four different individuals in its first two years amid distrust of the victims involved.

Grenfell survivors had wanted a say in the appointment of the chair of the inquiry but this was refused by the prime minister, who cited rules governing such inquiries.

In the 2014 case, Moore-Bick said Westminster council could rehouse Titina Nzolameso, a single mother with five children, more than 50 miles away in Milton Keynes. He ruled that it was not necessary for Westminster to explain in detail what other accommodation was available and that it could take “a broad range of factors” into account, including the pressures on the council, in deciding what housing was available.

Following the ruling, Jayesh Kunwardia, of Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors, which represented Nzolameso, said: “This judgment could have dire consequences for vulnerable families across the country.

“It gives the green light for councils to engage in social cleansing of the poor on a mass scale. Council tenants are being threatened with homelessness unless they agree to uproot themselves from communities they’ve lived in for years.”

Survivors and the families of those who died in the devastating blaze will be given state funding for legal representation at the inquiry. The prime minister said a full judge-led inquiry was needed to ensure that the events at the 24-storey block were “properly investigated”.

In his commercial work and at the appeal court, Moore-Bick dealt with some housing cases although his main area of expertise was to do with contracts, insurance and banking.

Jolyon Maugham QC, who is advising some of the families of the victims, said Moore-Bick and the government need to convince survivors that they will be heard.

Speaking to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme he said: “People want to fee that they are involved in the process.” He also listed a series of key questions for the judge and the government: “Is there going to be discussion with Grenfell community leaders about the nature of the terms of reference? Are residents of Grenfell Tower and family members of the victims of the disaster going to be consulted on the choice of barrister who represents families and victims in the inquiry? Is government going really going to think about the difficulties that families of Grenfell victims face in trusting an establishment that we know has let them down?”

Maugham added: “These inquiries, which have the capacity to heal, also have the capacity to exacerbate harm and distrust and I desperately hope that is not what happens here.”

Shadow business minister Jack Dromey told Sky News that Moore-Bick needed “command confidence on the part of those who went through purgatory”. He added: “Above all the test for me, whoever conducts this independent inquiry, has got to be acceptable to the families.”

Housing campaigner Pilgrim Tucker, who has been advising survivors of the fire tweeted, that Moore-Bick’s appointment was “completely inappropriate” and that residents were being ignored.

Michael Mansfield QC said the government had failed to consult, repeating errors made when Theresa May announced an enquiry into child sexual abuse, and struggled to find a chair acceptable to survivors.

Mansfield said just last week residents from flats neighbouring Grenfell had written to the prime minister and the home secretary asking to be consulted about the public enquiry into the disaster.

Mansfield said: ”Theresa May has rebuffed a request that went in last week, from the residents, saying: may we please be involved in the terms of reference and the appointment of the chair. It does not inspire confidence. It’s to do with justice being seen to be done. The child sexual abuse enquiry took four years and four chairs. They are doing exactly the same all over again. They don’t consult before or after. Consult with the people.”