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Grenfell fire: Inquiry head faces angry residents' meeting Grenfell fire: Inquiry head faces angry residents' meeting
(35 minutes later)
The retired judge who will head the Grenfell Tower inquiry has faced angry residents and survivors in a three-hour long meeting.The retired judge who will head the Grenfell Tower inquiry has faced angry residents and survivors in a three-hour long meeting.
A video of the meeting shows the ex-judge saying he would "find the facts as I see them from the evidence".A video of the meeting shows the ex-judge saying he would "find the facts as I see them from the evidence".
Joe Delaney, of the Grenfell Action Group, told the BBC that Sir Martin Moore-Bick was not jeered or booed, but people were sceptical about him.Joe Delaney, of the Grenfell Action Group, told the BBC that Sir Martin Moore-Bick was not jeered or booed, but people were sceptical about him.
He has already faced calls to step down just days after being appointed.He has already faced calls to step down just days after being appointed.
Sir Martin said he had been invited to the meeting by the Lancaster West Residents Association.Sir Martin said he had been invited to the meeting by the Lancaster West Residents Association.
He described it afterwards as a "very useful meeting".He described it afterwards as a "very useful meeting".
Mr Delaney told BBC Radio 5 live that Sir Martin "wasn't jeered or booed. It was more scepticism. You could hear people sighing and tutting".Mr Delaney told BBC Radio 5 live that Sir Martin "wasn't jeered or booed. It was more scepticism. You could hear people sighing and tutting".
"It got a bit loud before the end. The man couldn't even control the crowd and hold them. I have heard public speakers who can shut up a stadium full of thousands of people. This man couldn't hold a room with 200 or so people.""It got a bit loud before the end. The man couldn't even control the crowd and hold them. I have heard public speakers who can shut up a stadium full of thousands of people. This man couldn't hold a room with 200 or so people."
Local resident Melvyn Akins, 30, said there was "frustration, anger and confusion" in the meeting.Local resident Melvyn Akins, 30, said there was "frustration, anger and confusion" in the meeting.
"People firmly believe that arrests should be made as a result of the outcome of all of this. If arrests are not made, people are going to feel justice may not be being done.""People firmly believe that arrests should be made as a result of the outcome of all of this. If arrests are not made, people are going to feel justice may not be being done."
And Jacqui Haynes, who also attended the meeting, said: "He [Sir Martin] is trying to rush us so they can give us this document where the devil is in the detail and we will have one week to deal with it.And Jacqui Haynes, who also attended the meeting, said: "He [Sir Martin] is trying to rush us so they can give us this document where the devil is in the detail and we will have one week to deal with it.
"Us residents who don't have their expertise, who don't have their professionalism and resources have had to fight. They are relying on us giving up, being tired and becoming overwhelmed.""Us residents who don't have their expertise, who don't have their professionalism and resources have had to fight. They are relying on us giving up, being tired and becoming overwhelmed."
In a short video recorded at the meeting, Sir Martin tells those at the meeting: "I can't do more than assure you that I know what it is to be impartial.In a short video recorded at the meeting, Sir Martin tells those at the meeting: "I can't do more than assure you that I know what it is to be impartial.
"I've been a judge for 20 years, and I give you my word that I will look into this matter to the very best of my ability and find the facts as I see them from the evidence."I've been a judge for 20 years, and I give you my word that I will look into this matter to the very best of my ability and find the facts as I see them from the evidence.
"That's my job, that's my training, and that's what I intend to do. Now if I can't satisfy you because you have some preconception about me as a person that's up to you.""That's my job, that's my training, and that's what I intend to do. Now if I can't satisfy you because you have some preconception about me as a person that's up to you."
A consultation with residents to help define the scope of the inquiry is due to end next Friday, but some survivors are calling for a delay of up to six weeks so they can seek legal advice.A consultation with residents to help define the scope of the inquiry is due to end next Friday, but some survivors are calling for a delay of up to six weeks so they can seek legal advice.
However, government officials said Sir Martin was not currently "minded" to extend the consultation period.However, government officials said Sir Martin was not currently "minded" to extend the consultation period.
Labour's Emma Dent Coad has said Sir Martin was "a technocrat" who lacked "credibility" with victims and should step down. Kensington MP, Labour's Emma Dent Coad, has said Sir Martin was "a technocrat" who lacked "credibility" with victims and should step down.
And shadow fire minister Chris Williamson also backed his departure, saying "local people are saying they don't have faith in him". But Prime Minister Theresa May said she believed it was "important" that the inquiry was "judge-led", and said it would "address the issues that the residents and victims of this terrible fire want to see addressed".
But Lord Chancellor David Lidington said he had "complete confidence" in Sir Martin to carry out the inquiry. Kensington and Chelsea Council Labour Councillor Robert Atkinson called on Sir Martin to publish regular updates to residents to take them through the inquiry.
Raju Bhatt, a lawyer who was a member of the Hillsborough Independent Panel said it was "urgent" for Sir Martin to bring in advisors who can "gain the confidence of those who matter [and] can carry that confidence. " "Perhaps both sides need to understand the needs of the other side better," he told BBC News.
He added: "[It needs] people who understand the history behind Grenfell - people who can actually address the crying question, why did we, the public at large, allow these families to be put in the position that they find themselves in." "The judge has got to learn to take heckling from upset people - I don't think judges are used to being shouted at - and the residents have got to understand that there are constraints on the timing on what the judiciary can do.
"Let's judge the judge by what he does in the next few weeks."
Raju Bhatt, a lawyer who was a member of the Hillsborough Independent Panel said Sir Martin needed advisors "who understand the history behind Grenfell".
He said these had to be "people who can actually address the crying question, why did we, the public at large, allow these families to be put in the position that they find themselves in".
Fire testsFire tests
Separately, cladding samples which failed safety tests in the wake of the fire will be subjected to further "large-scale" testing. Separately, cladding samples which failed safety tests in the wake of the fire will be subjected to further "large-scale" testing - including building a 30ft-high (9m) demonstration wall to subject to a "severe fire".
Experts will fix a complete cladding system to a 30ft-high (9m) demonstration wall and subject it to "a severe fire", the government said. Urgent tests were ordered on cladding from about 600 towers blocks in England after the blaze, but after 190 samples out of 191 failed, more tests were requested.
Urgent tests were ordered on cladding from about 600 towers blocks in England after the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed at least 80 people, on 14 June.
But further tests will be carried out as a "next step" after 190 samples out of 191 failed combustibility tests.
The tests will also assess how different types of aluminium composite material (ACM) panels behave with different types of insulation in a fire, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said.The tests will also assess how different types of aluminium composite material (ACM) panels behave with different types of insulation in a fire, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said.
Two housing providers in Greater Manchester have now suspended the removal of cladding on their high rise blocks because of "unclear advice" from the government. Two housing providers in Eccles and Salford, Greater Manchester have now suspended the removal of cladding on 20 high rise blocks because of "unclear advice" from the government.
City West Housing Trust confirmed on Wednesday it was stopping its works on 12 of its buildings in Eccles, whilst Salix Homes said it had halted work on eight tower blocks in Salford. But a spokesman from the DCLG said government advice was "clear" that after testing, landlords, and fire services will "take decisions on building safety".
A spokesman from the DCLG said government advice was "clear" that any tall building with ACM cladding will have a fire risk assessment by the local fire brigade, and then landlords, in conjunction with fire services, will "take decisions on building safety". Elsewhere, Minister for London Greg Hands has called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to consider moving the Notting Hill Carnival following the fire.
Mr Hands tweeted: "The carnival is an important and symbolic community celebration in our capital's calendar... clearly it must go ahead.
"However, we have to ask ourselves if it is appropriate to stage a carnival in the near proximity of a national disaster."
Responding on Twitter, Mr Khan wrote: "Notting Hill Carnival is a firm London tradition and incredibly important to the local community. It should not be moved."
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