04 September 2024 , 20:27
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Texts from staffers at one firm found to have misled Grenfell materials providers about the quality of its cladding joked about the product failing fire tests, the inquiry found
Fatcat suppliers of material investigated in the Grenfell tower disaster said in a sickening text exchange that "all we do is lie".
The final report released to the public by the Grenfell Inquiry today identified a slew of failures across the government and private sector which led to devastating deaths at the west London tower block in 2017. Among findings outlined in the report was that there was "systematic dishonesty" from firms who made and sold the cladding which ignited, killing 72 people.
While collecting testimony, the inquiry heard that facade engineering firm Wintech questioned if insulation panels installed by manufacturers Celotex was suitable for high-rise buildings. Celotex bosses had suggested their product - which was used on 95 percent of the ill-fated building - was suitable for buildings higher than 18 metres, and broke into the market using "dishonest means" on a path blazed by Irish firm Kingspan.
Kingspan was found to have misled the public about the quality of its cladding ( Image: PA)
While Kingspan - which turns over €8 billion (£6.7 billion) per year - only made around five percent of the combustible foam installation used on the tower, the inquiry concluded that its "dishonest marketing" of the K15 product had "created the conditions" for Celotex to dishonestly break into the market. Sickening messages from staff at Kingspan uncovered during the inquiry revealed that staff had said Wintech should "go f*** themselves", and say "all we do is lie".
One email message from Kingspan technical manager Philip Heath read: "Wintech can go f*** themselves and if they are not careful we will sue the a--- [off] them." When asked by inquiry barrister Kate Grange QC who wrote the email, "given Wintech were giving entirely accurate advice to their customers", Mr Heath apologised for his "unprofessional" behaviour. He said: "It was totally unprofessional and on reflection I wouldn’t have said that. I think it was frustration we were going around in circles with them."
In a text exchange, technical project lead Arron Chalmers joked with a colleague about the K15 insulation product being marked safe after having failed its fire safety tests. Reacting after the other respondent ran through the firm’s marketing material, Chalmers said: "Yeah all lies mate. Alls we do is lie in here."
The inquiry ultimately concluded that multiple firms played a part in the "systematic dishonesty" that eventually led to the disaster at Grenfell, with Arconic, another manufacturer, having "deliberately concealed the true extent of the danger of using" the cladding, the report said. Fire tests commissioned by the firm showed it had performed poorly, but the information was not given to construction industry certification body the British Board of Agrément ( BBA).
French firm Arconic was also found to have played a part in the disaster
The report added that the lack of information "caused BBA to make statements that Arconic knew were ‘false and misleading’". Celotex, the firm that made the cladding alongside Kingspan, was found by the inquiry to have made "false and misleading claims" about the suitability of its product for Grenfell.
The inquiry added that Kingspan misled the market by not revealing the limitations of the product it helped create. These firms were not alone in their blame, the report adds, with public, local and national government bodies having also failed the residents of Grenfell, who were also failed by an "unedifying ’merry go round of buck-passing’" during safety checks.