There must be no more delay over the Grenfell independent inquiry

The police announcement did go some way to assuaging residents’ anger that no one will be brought to book over this affair. They, and the whole country, deserve to know that progress is being made as rapidly as possible

Corporate manslaughter is being considered by the police over Grenfell Tower (Reuters)

The latest news about the safety of tower blocks may be depressing, even frightening, but it comes as no surprise. Soon after the Grenfell Tower disaster we discovered the true scale of the dangers facing residents. Now that tests on the relevant cladding and foam insulation materials together have been carried out for the first time, our suspicions and fears have been confirmed. Thus we know that many blocks have failed the latest tests.

In this context, the establishment of the independent inquiry into building materials and fire safety under Dame Judith Hackitt is very welcome, as is the determination to produce a considered and thorough interim report by the end of the year. However, the Government did not really have to wait until all its tests of materials had been carried out before launching such a review. It was very obviously needed from the moment the Grenfell Tower blaze went out of control.

The Government’s encouragement of local authorities to take remedial action is also welcome. In fact, Salford is leading the way in decladding its public housing, getting the work under way immediately and worrying about the finance later. Every local council should do so, and every local council is now being offered assurances from the Treasury and the Department for Local Government and Communities that the vast cost of this work will be underwritten by the Government. That is the right thing to do, and inevitable, given the scale of the sums involved. Even at a time when the public finances remains under severe and growing pressure, we cannot afford to put money before life. The consequences of doing so have been seen in too many disasters over the years. So the work that has begun in Salford needs to be followed urgently in every other locality.

A further immediate priority is to get the independent inquiry into the Grenfell disaster properly under way, as part of the process of revealing the truth and, as the Metropolitan Police Service has indicated, bringing any public body, private company or individual to account for what happened, possibly for corporate manslaughter. There seems to be little news about when the interim report of the inquiry will be ready, or when the police and prosecuting authorities will commence any actions. Again, for the sake of justice these have to be expedited as soon as possible; the community will quickly lose faith if nothing is being done. The police announcement did go some way to assuaging residents’ anger that no one will be brought to book over this affair. They, and the whole country, deserve to know that progress is being made as rapidly as possible.

The new Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad says that Kensington and Chelsea councillors and other decision-makers linked to the Grenfell Tower refurbishment cannot stay in their roles as a corporate manslaughter investigation looms, and she is right to do so. However, it would be judicious to await at least further moves by the prosecutors or the interim report before attempting to remove elected councillors from office. A “taskforce” has already been sent into the borough to assist and oversee the council’s efforts, and that for the moment ought to be sufficient.

From the Guildford Four, to the banking crash, to the MPs’ expenses scandal, to VIP child abuse, to Hillsborough, Orgreave and much else, British bureaucracy has built up a reputation for failing to right wrongs and for covering up the malfeasance of the establishment. We do not yet know all the important details of what happened at Grenfell, still less who was responsible for apparently dangerous cladding on many more tower blocks in many more areas governed by just about every party over the years. The early signs are that the Grenfell disaster, with a more militant and demanding set of residents mobilised by the enormity of what happened, may mark something of a turning point in the authorities’ attitude.