A civil settlement for undisclosed compensation has been reached with more than 900 victims’ relatives and survivors of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London in which 72 people died. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
April 12 (UPI) — Hundreds of victims’ relatives and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in which 72 people died six years ago have reached a civil settlement of claims against a number of defendants in the High Court.
Arconic, the manufacturer of flammable cladding on the building alleged to have contributed to the tragedy, confirmed Wednesday that it was one of the firms in the case and had come to an agreement with more than 900 plaintiffs.
As part of the settlement the firm said it had agreed to contribute to a “restorative justice project to benefit the community affected by the fire”.
Companies that settled included Celotex subsidiary Saint Gobain, the parent company which manufactured much of the combustible insulation used on the tower, and Kingspan which made a lesser amount.
Other defendants included Rydon, the main contractor for the 2014-2016 building refurbishment; Harley Facades, a cladding sub-contractor; Exova, a fire engineering consulting firm; Studio E., an architecture firm; CS Stokes and Associates, a fire risk assessment firm; and Whirlpool, which made the fridge freezer that allegedly started the fire in a resident’s kitchen.
Kensington and Chelsea Borough which owned the building and central government departments, including the Home Office, were also sued.
The compensation settlement does not cover all victims and lawyers said it would not affect the public inquiry into the fire led by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick and was not in lieu of potential criminal charges, which remained a possibility in the future.
“The settlement is completely independent of, and has no impact upon, the ongoing public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which is due to publish its report in 2023, or the ongoing criminal investigation where it is anticipated that the Crown Prosecution Service will make a decision on whether to pursue criminal charges against those responsible for the fire after the publication of the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.”
“In those respects, the BSRs’ [bereaved family members, survivors and local residents] fight for justice continues.”
Summing up for victims at the end of the inquiry in November, chief counsel Richard Millett KC said a “merry-go-round of buck-passing” resulting from the failure of the firms involved and others to admit responsibility would make the inquiry’s task of getting to the bottom of the tragedy much harder.
The inquiry also heard that failures of the London Fire Brigade had “contributed to loss of life.”
The publication of the inquiry report will bring to a close the five-year investigation into the June 2017 public housing project blaze and why the building was coated in flammable materials.
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Blythe Ramage