PM acknowledges ‘substantial and widespread failings’ found by Grenfell Inquiry

The inquiry’s final report, published on Wednesday, found the fire that killed 72 people in 2017 was the result of “decades of failure” by central government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable cladding.

In a written statement, Sir Keir Starmer noted the report had found “substantial and widespread failings” and thanked inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick and panel members Thouria Istephan and Ali Akbor for their work.

He said: “The Government will carefully consider the report and its recommendations, to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again.

“I hope that those outside government will do the same.

“Given the detailed and extensive nature of the report, a further and more in-depth debate will be held at a later date.”

The Prime Minister added: “My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community.

“This day is for them.

“I hope that Sir Martin’s report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is a step towards the accountability and justice they deserve.”

He is expected to make a further statement in the House of Commons later on Wednesday.

Natasha Elcock, representing Grenfell United, said she expected Sir Keir’s Government to “break old habits” and “bring systematic change”.

She said: “This country has been failed by governments of all political persuasions.

“Our expectation is your Government will break old habits and implement all the recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s report without further delay, because the time to address this is already three decades too late.

“For the report to be worth anything, it must be, and bring, systematic change.

“You must finally now make this the turning point for Britain.”

Following publication of the report, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said those responsible for the fire should be banned from receiving government contracts and urged the Crown Prosecution Service to bring criminal charges against them.

He said: “The Grenfell Tower fire isn’t just a heart-breaking tragedy, it’s a horrific injustice and a national disgrace.

“That the lives of 72 Londoners were stolen from us in such circumstances is a moral outrage.

“The inquiry makes clear in stark terms that all these deaths were entirely avoidable, and that the residents of Grenfell Tower have paid the price for systematic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect.”

Baroness May of Maidenhead, who was prime minister at the time of the disaster,  said national and local government, regulators and industry “must all acknowledge their part in the history and series of events that led to this tragedy”.

She said the report was “a significant step in providing the Grenfell community with the answers they deserve after 72 people died, deaths that we now know were avoidable”.

The former prime minister, who ordered the inquiry, said: “A new government is now responsible for delivering the inquiry’s final recommendations. I hope they will treat this as a priority.

“I am acutely conscious that while today marks an important milestone, for the families the path to justice has not yet reached its end.

“More than seven years on, the Grenfell community still needs our support.  Perhaps most importantly of all, they need us not to forget.

“Only then can we deliver the change that Sir Martin has rightly and clearly called for.”

Lady May’s initial response to the disaster, when she met emergency workers but not survivors of the fire, was widely criticised at the time of the disaster and she has subsequently said she regretted not talking to residents on the day.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the bereaved and survivors had “waited too long to get the truth, and are still waiting for real justice and meaningful action”.

He called on the Government to act on the Inquiry’s findings, saying: “We owe it to them to ensure that this crucial report does not become another dust-covered book sitting on a shelf in Whitehall.

“Dangerous cladding must be removed from all buildings as quickly as possible.”