Mrs
Theresa May
Prime
Minister
10
Downing Street
London
SW1A
2AA
3 July 2017
Dear Prime Minister,
Re: Grenfell Tower Fire 14 June
2017
We are an umbrella action
group incorporating leading BME Lawyer groups, BME Community Organisations,
survivors, residents and supporters, created to assist those who have survived the fire
and those who live within the vicinity of Grenfell Tower.
We arranged a meeting, called
by the Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott M.P, at the House of Commons 29 June
2017. This meeting was also addressed by the Shadow Justice Minister, Richard
Burgon MP, Emma Dent Coad MP and David Lammy M.P. Also in attendance were 150 Residents,
who articulately expressed how distressed and troubled they were in relation to
the chaos that has ensued since the tragic events of 14 June.
The Residents expressed
extreme concern about the handling of this matter from the outset. Troublingly,
despite these having been voiced via numerous channels, this has not been improved
upon but, instead, continues to be repeatedly compounded. We cannot emphasise
the degree to which the failure of the Government and the Royal Borough of Kensington
and Chelsea to provide answers and failure to accede to reasonable requests has
undermined the trust and confidence not only of this community but of people
across the country. We address the most pertinent below:
Appointment of Judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick
There must of course be a
Public Inquiry held in accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005. You promised a
consultation in relation to the appointment of the Chair to this Inquiry. There was none. Why? Your lack of
consultation has increased the mistrust of both the Grenfell community and the
wider community and led to firm opposition of the appointment of Sir Martin
Moore-Bick.
We do not doubt
Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s vast experience or aptitude and. We do however, along with others, and with no
disrespect to him, question the appropriateness of his appointment. The fire at Grenfell Tower raises far wider
issues than health and safety assessments and compliance, the recommendations
following the fire at Lakanal Tower and so on. It shines a light on the
socioeconomic, cultural and diversity factors that were clearly at play. Just
as the Macpherson Inquiry was ultimately about more than the senseless and
brutal murder of a young black man, any Inquiry into this fire is bound to
question more than the technical issues alone. Its impact will be far reaching
for the Grenfell community and for our society as a whole.
It is therefore
astonishing that you have, without appropriate consultation appointed someone
with a commercial background in banking and insurance cases and a history of
being successfully appealed in cases where he has demonstrated a hardline
approach toward people from BME communities. This has already caused
considerable concern within the Grenfell community, the wider community and in
the media generally.
We therefore urge you to
withdraw this appointment and, after appropriate consultation, appoint a more
suitable High Court Judge. You will, of
course, be well aware that the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Bradford
Inquirey and Scarman Report only managed to build the confidence of the local
community by conducting a detailed consultation sitting with a diverse panel of
advisers who helped them develop the necessary trust and establish legitimacy.
Terms of Reference
In order to have legitimacy, the
Public inquiry must undertake a full and proper consultation as to the terms of
reference. The initial remarks by Sir Martin
Moore-Bick on the first day of his appointment demonstrated an extremely narrow
remit which may well have been imposed by him but which has been understood by
many to demonstrate his approach. They also demonstrated a lack of awareness of
the concerns of the Grenfell survivors, bereaved and the wider community.
The Residents must be provided with a clear and unambiguous opportunity
to contribute to setting the terms of references of the Public Inquiry and to
remain involved in a meaningful manner. Justice must be seen to be done. In addition to the need to hear from expert
advisors on fire, safety, regulatory frameworks and local social housing
provision and maintenance, there is also a need for the appointment
of a diverse panel of experts that has an understanding socioeconomic, cultural and diversity factors and understands the
needs of the community. All of this is essential to the success of the Inquiry.
The Inquiry must also examine the
failure of central and local Government to react appropriately in the first two
weeks after the disaster so that lessons are learnt for the future. It must of
course also set an urgent timetable to address fire safety concerns about other
similar buildings.
We call upon you to set a clear
timetable for consultation that provides a full opportunity for those directly
affected to participate in setting its course and composition. Anything less
would be a betrayal of their suffering and those who needlessly lost their
lives. We also call upon you to set up a diverse panel of experts to assist and
support the Public Inquiry.
We emphasis the need for the enquiry
to be thorough, to examine all the steps that were, or were not, taken
leading up to and contributing to the tragedy. We further emphasise the need
for the Inquiry to be efficient and expedient.
There should be no repetition of the delays that occurred after the
Lakanal fire or the failure to consider and act upon any recommendations,
including interim recommendations.
Residents’ recommendations
We also take this
opportunity to inform you that following on from the House of Commons meeting,
the residents listed concerns which we urge the Government to address
immediately:-
1.
The
Home Secretary and Lord Chief Justice to state immediately why the Grenfell
Residents were not consulted prior to the appointment of the retired Court of
Appeal Judge;
2. The
Home Secretary to explain what consultation is to occur before the Terms of
Reference are finalised and to invite the Lord Chief Justice to attend a
meeting on 19th July of BME Lawyers4 Grenfell to be held at the BBC
to explain to survivors how they can influence the scope of the Inquiry;
3. To withdraw the appointment of Sir
Moore-Bick and find a High Court Judge with a history of appreciating the needs
of social housing in this diverse community which has all too often ignored by
the wealthiest Borough in the country;
4.
To
ensure that the Government coordinated response team is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week and accessible in person, by telephone and email so that
people are not greeted by answerphone messages and that interpretation services
and emergency contacts are accessible;
5.
The Home
Secretary to confirm in writing within 28 days that undocumented survivors are
given full UK citizenship forthwith;
6.
The
offering of full counselling services to all survivors, family members of
survivors, volunteers, eye witnesses and local residents / community and mental
health support provided for those who require it;
7. To
provide a comprehensive undertaking not to house people outside the Borough or
in temporary housing for longer than three months, keeping any necessary
interim moves to an absolute minimum;
8.
To
give assurances in writing that anyone provided with negligent advice by the
RBKC must not be disadvantaged in their right to social housing in the future;
9. To
release the total numbers of survivors and the number of missing as opposed to
the numbers believed to be dead within 14 days of the date of this letter.
To guarantee that the Inquiry Chair will
adopt a wide Terms of Reference that goes beyond the narrow one outlined in his
recent statement;
1 To guarantee the interim findings of the
Inquiry will be made public within four months of the Inquiry commencing;
1 To ensure a properly diverse expert panel
with suitable experience of equality, diversity and social welfare
considerations sit alongside experts on fire, housing needs, health and safety,
construction and so on.
Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf
BME LAWYERS 4 GRENFELL:
Ismet P Rawat [Mrs], President,
Association of Muslim Lawyers
Peter Herbert, Chair, Society
of Black Lawyers
Ghino Parker [Mrs], Resident
and Grenfell community representative.
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