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Survivors and discontents of the Grenfell Tower fire have called the rules “insane” which mean that while they may eat in a restaurant or drink in a pub, they still cannot attend the public inquiry, which restarts Monday.
Builders from the disastrous remodel will continue to provide evidence in front of an empty investigation room in Paddington this week, followed by building security officials from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and, next month, executives from the council’s housing arm, who acted as owner.
But the community will still be banned from attending due to a lockout since the investigation was restarted in July after a hiatus during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. A live YouTube feed of witnesses being questioned in front of the chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, and her fellow panelist Thouria Istephan, architect and health and safety expert, will be made available.
The investigation has said that it is “planning the assistance of the bereaved, survivors and residents as soon as possible” and is considering a voting system that allows the entry of 10 community members at a time.
But he told the more than 600 main participants: “The resumption of the hearings in September is not the right time to relax the arrangements and compromise the standard of spacing of 2 meters.”
Research CEO Mark Fisher told participants in a letter: “The research continues to take the health and safety guidance extremely seriously and while we are eager to allow more numbers within the site, we must be aware of the evolution of the public health position. As soon as we can increase the number of people who can attend the hearings, BSR [bereaved, survivors and residents] attendance will be the primary concern of the panel and will be given priority over all other parties. “
The position has frustrated and heartbroken the survivors. “I go into Nando’s and they are all informal, people are crowded on the beaches, I can go to a pub and have a pint without a mask, but I cannot enter the public investigation,” said Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the fire.
He said it was important to the grieving process and to be able to bring closure for bereaved and survivors to be able to look witnesses in the face, “see their facial expressions and what emotions they are bringing to the table and see if you can get their attention and project some of the pain and emotion ”.
He said: “This may be the only way we can see these people. We may never get the chance again. “
The investigation said it worked with the Government Property Agency (GPA) “to ensure that our facilities are as safe as possible for those who need to attend. This includes taking into account the physical assistance required of people who are in the most vulnerable groups ”.
The GPA approves the limit on the number of people allowed in each room of the venue, and these limits would currently not allow additional attendees.
The restrictions are adding to tensions between the Grenfell community and the government. Last month, Grenfell United, the group of survivors, declined an invitation to meet with Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, citing his involvement with real estate developer Richard Desmond on the Westferry housing development, as well as what they claim is a fault. of progress in social housing. reform and slow progress in applying the results of the first phase of the investigation.
They told him in a letter: “Your perception of focusing on the interests of real estate developers over the needs of an impoverished local community has soured our opinion of you. She tells us that she has learned nothing from her past interactions and conversations with the Grenfell United committee members who lost so much the night of the fire. The grieving families and survivors sat down with you and opened their hearts, and your actions have restored this trust to our faces. “
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for a response.
Participants are also frustrated that Downing Street has not appointed a research panelist with experience in community affairs, as it promised to do in January. Engineer Benita Mehra was forced to resign when The Guardian revealed she had ties to the company that made the siding guilty of accelerating the fatal fire.
“The search process for the new panel member has been underway since March,” said a spokesman for the Cabinet Office, who blamed Covid-19 for the delay. “The process is now in an advanced stage and the new panel member will be announced soon.”
