The final report released yesterday revealed a culture of ‘dishonesty and incompetence’ within construction firms led to highly flammable cladding used on the 24-storey block of flats
Those who have been blamed for causing the devastating Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people have continued to earn hundreds of millions of pounds.
The final report released yesterday revealed a culture of ‘dishonesty and incompetence’ within construction firms led to highly flammable cladding used on the 24-storey block of flats.
What started as a kitchen fire on June 14, 2017, rapidly spread throughout the tower leaving hundreds trapped in 1,000C heat.
A public inquiry which was opened immediately after the fire found almost every organisation involved in the construction and refurbishment of the building was partly responsible.
It also said construction companies displayed an attitude of indifference towards fire safety.
Yet it was revealed earlier this year that 10 bosses who helped build the doomed tower block had banked more than £300 million since the fire in 2017.
Arconic
Arconic was one of the main firms found to be at fault with the inquiry finding the company was ‘determined to exploit what is saw as weak regulation in the UK’.
Claude Schmidt giving evidence (Picture:Grenfell Tower Inquiry)
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The report found the French construction company which sold cladding panels with a polyethylene core for the exterior of Grenfell Tower were aware the material was ‘extremely dangerous’.
Firefighters even likened the material to ‘petrol’, saying it made it impossible to stop the spread and put out the flames in time.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, who chaired the inquiry, said these panels were the ‘principle reason’ the fire spread throughout the building.
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The Reynobond PE panels failed a fire test when it was bent to hang from a wall, but did not reveal this when obtaining a certificate from the British Board of Agrément.
The president of Arconic Claude Schmidt accepted when he gave evidence to the inquiry staff had ‘misled and lied’ to customers after refusing to be a witness for seven months.
But bosses have continued to profit, with chief executive Tim Myers cashing in shares £22.3million on top of £23.9million in pay since Grenfell.
The 72 confirmed victims who died in the Grenfell Tower fire (Picture: PA Wire)
Chief financial officer Erick Asmussen and chief commercial officer Mark Vrablec made a further £9.2 million from the share sales plus £9.2 million in pay.
The company has recouped nearly all of their legal expenses relating to Grenfell from their insurers, their accounts reveal.
Arconic said: ‘The fire was a terrible tragedy and as Arconic remembers the 72 …read more
Source:: Metro
