More than seven years after 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire, we finally have the verdict of the official enquiry. And it’s damning, but not unexpected.
Over the years we have learned, through live testimony to the inquiry, about the failures of various organisations and individuals in their duty of care. The picture that emerged, and which has been vividly painted in the inquiry’s final report, is of an entire industry unsure of its responsibilities and anxious to evade accountability.
Some people were downright dishonest – representatives of the product manufacturers especially – but many others were simply incompetent. And you wonder how can so many people be so utterly useless? Literally nobody – not the contractors, product suppliers, designers, testing and certification bodies, local authority or public sector bodies – comes out of the inquiry without a stain on their record.
So was the Grenfell Tower tragedy an exception? Readers of this magazine can find stories of tragic failures of judgement and incompetence in every issue. Just turn to page 13 and read the ‘Prosecutions’ column. The actions of stupid, careless, ignorant and dishonest people are killing and maiming others in horrific construction site accidents all the time. If the Grenfell Tower fire was exceptional in any way, it is only because the cumulative failings of so many people converged on that one fateful recladding project in 2015.