Press Release 

The publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s first report, which was due this spring, has been delayed until October.

The fire that devastated Grenfell tower and claimed at least 72 lives was a huge indication that ‘urgent and very far reaching reforms’ on a range of issues were required; from fire safety, social housing, inequality and deregulation to name a few. Grenfell Inquiry Judge Martin Moore-Bick has now stated that his much-awaited phase 1 report will be delay. The report was supposed to be delivered in spring 2019. Independent Charity INQUEST recently produced a report indicating that bereaved families demanded interim recommendations be put in place as soon as possible to protect others and a repeat of what happened at Grenfell.

The delay of the phase 1 report is an addition to list of other ‘delays’ communicated by the authorities.

Who can forget the Prime Ministers promise to Grenfell survivors that they would be rehoused with two weeks? In March 2019 the Met police stated that if their investigation conclude ‘there is sufficient evidence to consider criminal charges in relation to the fire’, a file will not be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration until the final inquiry report that will follow Phase 2 hearings. Are we now to surmise that Phase 2 of the inquiry will also be subject to further delay?

Yes, Public Inquiry reports may well take a long time to write – but why make a promise about the timing of the report in the first place.  This has only served to decrease Bereaved, Survivors and Residents (BSR) confidence in the process further. They have already raised the issues of a lack of transparency during the inquiry and a culture of secrecy and exclusion.

This is another excuse on a long list of shifting the parameters of the inquiry and a lack of willingness to discuss with BSRs how and why decisions are made.

Nabil Choucair who lost 6 family members in the fire and Chair of Grenfell Trust said,

‘The delay of the Phase 1 report appears suspicious. ‘What are they hiding? Who are they protecting – the government, local authority, the companies? I now have a complete lack of trust in this process. There is a huge machinery of civil servants who are paid to produce the Inquiry report.  Why is it taking so long?’

In the lead up to the second anniversary we are approaching a very difficult time of the year for the whole community – we hope that the Inquiry will not bury more bad news or raise further delays at this time.

They should remember that Justice delayed is justice denied.

On the 9th of June 2019, Justice4Grenfell & Grenfell Trust will be hosting a fundraising football tournament event. If you would like to submit a team, Send the team name to 07709145638 or Email [email protected] . Influencers such as AJ tracey, Conducta, Ashley Walters, QPR will be attending with many more.

Justice4Grenfell say No to Justice delayed

London, 7 March 2019

21 months on from the Grenfell Tower fire that claimed the lives of 72 innocent people, bereaved families and survivors are rightly dismayed at the Police update which stated that that the Metropolitan Police Service will likely not file submissions for criminal charges to the CPS until at least 2021.

Nabil Choucair, bereaved family member and Chair of the Grenfell Trust, says

 “It is a complete disgrace and a betrayal of our loved ones that we lost on the 14^thJune 2017. It appears to be a massive cover up and as if they are looking for excuses and loopholes not to prosecute so the guilty parties get off scot free. We will never stand for that”.

 Shahrokh Aghlani, who is also a bereaved family member, walked out of the meeting with Police yesterday in protest of the announcement.

Justice4Grenfell does not understand why the Police are waiting for the Public Inquiry evidence before sending a file to CPS – these are and should be handled as two separate investigations.

Justice4Grenfell share the views of bereaved families and the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and believe that justice delayed is justice denied. We will not accept a repeat of the mistakes of Hillsborough. We have recently seen example of ‘justice delayed and then denied’ in the case of Sean Rigg. The MPS needs to recognise that delay tactics usually have adverse outcomes.

We stand with the bereaved, survivors and local community in the fight to get justice for the 72 people who died and whilst we ask that the Police do a thorough investigation, it is not right that the families are faced with a 4 year wait for justice and change.

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London, 15th February 2019

20 months on from the Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 72 lives, 72 people, comprised of activists, bereaved families, members of the community and high profile supporters of the cause, united at the start of London Fashion Week, to represent those who lost their lives in the disaster.

Wearing a protest t-shirt, the 72 ‘models’, including musician Emeli Sande, models Adwoa Aboah and Clara Paget, activists Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein and DJ Becky Tong, lined up on the catwalk of LFW at 180 The Strand calling for justice as nearly 2 years on from the atrocity of the Grenfell Tower fire, nobody has been held accountable.

The ‘No Death in Vain’ t-shirt was designed by Grenfell Speaks and two young community members at SpiltSquare Design: “We wanted to create a design that remembered and honoured the people who died at Grenfell Tower, and to serve as a reminder of why we continue to campaign as a community.”

There are still hundreds of buildings with flammable cladding, not all families have been adequately rehoused, developers and local authorities are “consistently ignoring” the London Fire Brigade’s advice that sprinklers are crucial in their buildings. The second half of the Inquiry and criminal investigation has been delayed, likely until 2020. In short, there has been no justice; lessons have not been learned and there has been little to no change to fire and building regulations.

“London Fashion week is a perennial event in the international calendar and highlights the world talent, creativity and inspiration in our diverse city.

The fire at Grenfell Tower is the unfashionable side of London where 72 people needlessly lost their lives. Their deaths will not be in vain. We are honoured to be part of LFW that will assist our campaign in keeping a global focus on what happened at Grenfell and to support the bereaved families in their continued fight for truth and justice.

The accountable authorities have been inadequate and tardy in their response and 20 months on; no significant changes or improvements have been made and no one to date has been held responsible. These factors and issues are fundamental to ensuring that nothing like this is ever allowed to happen again.” Yvette Williams J4G campaign coordinator.

In solidarity and to demand justice for those who lost their lives, Justice4Grenfell is encouraging the public to show support for the movement by resharing these images during London Fashion Week on social media with the #Justice4Grenfell @officialJ4G

Photo credit: Jeff Moore
Social: @OfficialJ4G #Justice4Grenfell

For further information, or to arrange an interview with a Justice4Grenfell spokesperson, please contact Sabrina Coogan on [email protected] or 07850753929; or Matt Crowhurst on [email protected] or 07971 301874.

The Justice4Grenfell Campaign are hosting a Public Meeting on the 1st February 2018, 7pm at Maxilla Social Club, raising the question: ‘How do we get Justice For Grenfell?’

The meeting provides a platform for the community to discuss what justice looks like, and how it can be achieved. This is particularly pertinent as nearly 8 months after the fire, the following issues are still outstanding:

1. There have been no arrests
2. Hundreds of families are still without permanent accommodation
3. Thousands, nationwide, are still living in unsafe buildings and;
4. Despite a petition and legal advice, the Public Inquiry panel still remains unrepresentative of our diverse community.

Speakers will include:

1. Emma Dent Coad – Local Labour MP
2. Clarrie Mendy – Bereaved Family Member & Humanity4Grenfell Founder
3. Matt Wrack – General Secretary of the Fire Brigade’s Union
4. Joe Delaney – Resident & Grenfell Action Group Member
5. Eileen Short – Defend Council Housing
6. Kevin Courtenay – General Secretary of National Union of Teachers (NEU)
7. Brian Richardson – Stand Up To Racism

The Grenfell Tower fire has highlighted failures in protecting the safety of social housing tenants, adequate public services, lack of equality and human rights with little or no accountability.

The Justice4Grenfell campaign says “It’s vital that those in authority begin to act upon community demands immediately, and lessons are learned, so that no community ever has to face what this community has endured in the last 8 months – only through the responsible authorities implementing action and change, will Justice be done and be seen to be done, by those that matter.”

8 months on from the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower, the issue is being ignored.

71 people died in the Grenfell Tower.

And still no arrests.

And still 297 flammable towers.

And still hundreds of survivors are homeless.

And still they are not represented on the inquiry.

And still there is no justice.

These 3 billboards are here to keep this tragedy in the national conscience, to make our voices heard.

And our voices call for change to a system that kills.

And our voices demand justice for Grenfell.

You can add your voice; retweet, share, talk.

Justice4Grenfell Campaign is aware that five individuals implicated in this grotesque video have presented themselves at a police station.

Public outrage regarding their behaviours and the gravity of what they did demonstrates that these acts of hatred will not be tolerated and have no place in our society.

Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the bereaved families and survivors who have been further traumatised by such a heinous video; especially at this time when many of them are giving evidence to the Grenfell Public Inquiry.

We leave it to the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to look at the evidence and investigate this thoroughly. We do not want to jeopardise any future prosecution process; so are making no further comment on any charges that these despicable perpetrators may face.

We recognise that even racists are still entitled to a fair trial.

On Wednesday afternoon, we met with the Rt. Hon.  Nick Hurd MP, The Grenfell Minister.

We had 4 key points that we raised at the meeting:

1.    Justice4Grenfell is supporting Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith, who has tabled a private members Bill on Freedom of Information Act (Extension). The Bill highlights how dependent we have become on contractors for public services, yet the current FOI Act suffers from a major loophole; information which the contractors themselves hold about their services may not be covered. If the contract doesn’t give the authority the right to obtain that information from the contractor, the public has no right to it from the authority. The transfer of a function from the authority’s staff to the contractors, may signal the denial of the public’s right to know under FOI.

When the Grenfell Action Group made FOI requests to the former Kensington and Chelsea TMO, they were denied this. They will now be given that information by the Grenfell Inquiry and Police Investigation.  It may be that if the Grenfell Action Group had accessed and scrutinised crucial information prior to June 14th 2017, the fire at Grenfell Tower would not have happened.

Justice4Grenfell supports this bill, and we have asked the Rt Hon. Nick Hurd MP to support it when it gets a debate date in Parliament.

2.    We have also asked the Minister to look at applying the same principle to the Public-Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010.

The Act should be amended so that Public Authorities outsourcing bounds Contractors to the Duty. The broad purpose of the equality duty is to integrate consideration of equality and good relations into the day-to-day business of public authorities. If you do not consider how a function can affect different groups in different ways, it is unlikely to have the intended effect. This can contribute to greater inequality and poor outcomes.

Compliance with the general equality duty is a legal obligation, but it also makes good business sense. An organisation that is able to provide services to meet the diverse needs of its users, should find that it carries out its core business more efficiently.  By outsourcing public services to contractors has allowed a caveat for them to renege on their statutory duties.

3.    Justice4Grenfell attended the Grenfell Recovery Scrutiny Committee meeting on Tuesday 24th July. It is clear that community trust and confidence in the work of the local authority is not improving and the mere change of venue for the GRSC is not working.

The GRSC intends to co-opt four community members to the committee. We have asked the minister to support our request that one of the co-opted members is also appointed as a co-chair to alongside current Chair Cllr Robert Thompson.  There needs to be action to build trust and confidence, not just words and venue changes.  Not only will the appointment of a community co-chair begin to build public trust, but it will also ensure that there is somebody chairing who really understands the needs and temperament of the community.

4.    Additionally, a huge contribution to building trust and confidence would be a ‘tier of scrutinisers’ at RBKC who the community will have immediate trust in.

Justice4Grenfell discussed with the Minister that it would be prudent for RBKC to have non-executive Directors with effective community knowledge and understanding plus equal decision-making powers to the CEO. This would instantly increase openness and transparency and be a great step towards building community trust and confidence.

We hope that Minister has listened and will support these recommendations.