Sir Martin Moore-Bick is likely to lead the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed at least 80 people
The building sector has been under the spotlight over the past few weeks. As more details emerge about the Grenfell Tower fire it is becoming apparent there were significant failings regarding the safety of the cladding used on the building.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Theresa May acknowledged the cladding used on Grenfell Tower did not meet building safety regulations.
“My understanding is that this particular cladding was not compliant with the building regulations.
“This raises wider issues, as the House will recognise, and it is important that we are careful in how we talk about this because there is a criminal investigation taking place and it’s important that we allow the police to do that criminal investigation and take the decisions that they need to take.”
She added: “We have the building regulations about compliant materials. The question is why we have seen in local authority area after local authority area materials being put up that appear not to comply with those building regulations. That is what we need to get to the bottom of.”
An inquiry is set to take place to discern why such catastrophic failings occurred. Sources told the BBC retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick is likely to lead this.
Moore-Bick was a lawyer who specialised in commercial law, in particular disputes relating to maritime and land transports of goods.
It is thought some 80 people perished in the fire, although only 18 have been formally identified by the coroner.
100 per cent failure
The cladding on the outside of the building has been a major focus in the aftermath of the disaster and prompted mass testing of other high-rise buildings. Thirty-seven local authorities in England reported 120-buildings failed fire safety tests. This, May told MPs, was a 100 per cent failure rate. She called upon councils and housing associations to act quickly and “get on with the fire safety checks”.
