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| How Theresa May could make the Grenfell Tower inquiry more credible | How Theresa May could make the Grenfell Tower inquiry more credible |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Some say inquests would reveal more, but there are important advantages to a public inquiry with the right person in charge | |
| Alan Travis Home affairs editor | |
| Fri 16 Jun 2017 14.20 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.34 GMT | |
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| Theresa May could allay concerns over her rapid announcement of a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster by giving the job of chairing it to the judge who conducted a damning inquest into a similar fatal tower block fire in Southwark in 2009. | Theresa May could allay concerns over her rapid announcement of a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster by giving the job of chairing it to the judge who conducted a damning inquest into a similar fatal tower block fire in Southwark in 2009. |
| After a gruelling 11-week inquest in 2013 into the deaths of six people in the Lakanal House fire four years earlier, the jury returned a verdict that clearly pointed to the failings of Southwark council and exposed the role of cladding panels in spreading the fire more rapidly than it was possible to stop. | After a gruelling 11-week inquest in 2013 into the deaths of six people in the Lakanal House fire four years earlier, the jury returned a verdict that clearly pointed to the failings of Southwark council and exposed the role of cladding panels in spreading the fire more rapidly than it was possible to stop. |
| The coroner, Judge Frances Kirkham, made robust recommendations including updating the building regulations and clarification of the “stay put” fire policy that have still yet to be acted upon by ministers. | The coroner, Judge Frances Kirkham, made robust recommendations including updating the building regulations and clarification of the “stay put” fire policy that have still yet to be acted upon by ministers. |
| Kirkham, who spent much of her career as the technology and construction court judge in Birmingham, is retired but appears to be eminently qualified to get to the truth of what happened as the chair of a full public inquiry. | Kirkham, who spent much of her career as the technology and construction court judge in Birmingham, is retired but appears to be eminently qualified to get to the truth of what happened as the chair of a full public inquiry. |
| May’s decision to announce the inquiry, as her key response following her “private” visit to Grenfell Tower in which she failed to talk to residents, has already attracted criticism and raised fears of a cover-up. | May’s decision to announce the inquiry, as her key response following her “private” visit to Grenfell Tower in which she failed to talk to residents, has already attracted criticism and raised fears of a cover-up. |
| Sophie Khan, legal director of the Police Action Centre, has advised the bereaved families to press for inquests instead of the public inquiry. “I’m very concerned as to why Ms May came out so quickly to say ‘public inquiry’. What is there, that she knows, that needs to be hidden?” she said, adding that inquest juries often “get out of control” and say things that may be very difficult for the government to hear. | Sophie Khan, legal director of the Police Action Centre, has advised the bereaved families to press for inquests instead of the public inquiry. “I’m very concerned as to why Ms May came out so quickly to say ‘public inquiry’. What is there, that she knows, that needs to be hidden?” she said, adding that inquest juries often “get out of control” and say things that may be very difficult for the government to hear. |
| May has a strong record in ordering public inquiries into difficult issues, not least the Hillsborough inquiry with its damning verdict on the police. She made clear on Thursday that the judge-led inquiry would leave no stone unturned. “We need to know what happened. We need to know an explanation,” she said. “We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived.” | May has a strong record in ordering public inquiries into difficult issues, not least the Hillsborough inquiry with its damning verdict on the police. She made clear on Thursday that the judge-led inquiry would leave no stone unturned. “We need to know what happened. We need to know an explanation,” she said. “We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived.” |
| Inquests will have to be opened into the many deaths at Grenfell Tower, but once identities have been established they are likely to be adjourned until other inquiries and investigations have taken place. That includes the Health and Safety Executive and police investigation into possible charges of corporate manslaughter or neglect as well as the public inquiry. The inquests are unlikely to be able to provide a substitute for them. | Inquests will have to be opened into the many deaths at Grenfell Tower, but once identities have been established they are likely to be adjourned until other inquiries and investigations have taken place. That includes the Health and Safety Executive and police investigation into possible charges of corporate manslaughter or neglect as well as the public inquiry. The inquests are unlikely to be able to provide a substitute for them. |
| The Coroner’s Court Service says inquests are not permitted to determine or appear to determine criminal liability by a named person or civil liability. “It is about what happened, not who was responsible for what happened, for which the civil and criminal courts have jurisdiction,” it says. | The Coroner’s Court Service says inquests are not permitted to determine or appear to determine criminal liability by a named person or civil liability. “It is about what happened, not who was responsible for what happened, for which the civil and criminal courts have jurisdiction,” it says. |
| There are further limitations in inquests. Legal aid is means-tested for bereaved families, which often means there are difficulties in getting legal representation. The delays involved also meant that the firefighters in the Southwark case faced the traumatic experience of reliving their discovery of the bodies four years after it had happened. | There are further limitations in inquests. Legal aid is means-tested for bereaved families, which often means there are difficulties in getting legal representation. The delays involved also meant that the firefighters in the Southwark case faced the traumatic experience of reliving their discovery of the bodies four years after it had happened. |
| A full public inquiry under the 2005 act, which is expected to cost millions, could have the power at the discretion of the chair to issue an interim report after the summer in the same way an air accident investigation will issue an interim verdict for the aircraft industry as to whether any planes need grounding. | A full public inquiry under the 2005 act, which is expected to cost millions, could have the power at the discretion of the chair to issue an interim report after the summer in the same way an air accident investigation will issue an interim verdict for the aircraft industry as to whether any planes need grounding. |
| The full inquiry will also have statutory powers to send for people and papers, which means even the PM’s own chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, could be questioned in public over his record as housing minister in failing to update the building regulations after Lakanal House. | The full inquiry will also have statutory powers to send for people and papers, which means even the PM’s own chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, could be questioned in public over his record as housing minister in failing to update the building regulations after Lakanal House. |
| There are problems with public inquiries. As the child abuse inquiry shows it is vital to have a chair that commands the confidence of victims. A House of Lords report into the operation of the 2005 Public Inquiries Act also criticised the ability of ministers to influence an inquiry when they set the terms of reference. In the case of the Leveson inquiry they have been able to block its second stage investigation into the relationship between newspapers and the police. | There are problems with public inquiries. As the child abuse inquiry shows it is vital to have a chair that commands the confidence of victims. A House of Lords report into the operation of the 2005 Public Inquiries Act also criticised the ability of ministers to influence an inquiry when they set the terms of reference. In the case of the Leveson inquiry they have been able to block its second stage investigation into the relationship between newspapers and the police. |
| But it seems that a robust chair is the best guarantee of independence from ministerial interference. Perhaps retired judge Frances Kirkham is the right woman for the job? | But it seems that a robust chair is the best guarantee of independence from ministerial interference. Perhaps retired judge Frances Kirkham is the right woman for the job? |
| Grenfell Tower fire | |
| London | |
| Theresa May | |
| analysis | |
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