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Barwell faces call to resign after letters on fire safety before Grenfell emerge

Gavin Barwell should resign as the prime minister’s chief of staff following the emergence of letters showing that he failed to act on multiple safety warnings in the build-up to the Grenfell Tower fire, the local Labour MP has said.

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Gavin Barwell, former housing minister and prime minister’s chief of staff (picture: Simon Brandon)
Gavin Barwell, former housing minister and prime minister’s chief of staff (picture: Simon Brandon)
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Barwell faces call to resign after letters on fire safety before the Grenfell Tower blaze emerge #ukhousing

Local MP to Grenfell Tower calls on Gavin Barwell to resign after @InsideHousing reveals he did not act on multiple fire safety warnings in the lead-up to the Grenfell fire #ukhousing

Emma Dent Coad, Labour MP for North Kensington, said that the former housing minister should “do the decent thing” and give up his role in Theresa May’s top team.

She added that police should investigate the failure to act on the recommendations of the coroner for the Lakanal House fire.

Inside Housing revealed today that Mr Barwell received a string of letters from MPs pushing for the recommendations to be acted on in the build-up to the Grenfell Tower fire, and many went unanswered.

It is understood the letters are with the Metropolitan Police, although it is not known whether they form part of their investigation.


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Ms Dent Coad said: “Many are demanding that Gavin Barwell should resign or be sacked for the extraordinary dereliction of duty which led to 72 people losing their lives in the most horrific way,” she said.

“I agree and would add that the failures are serious enough to merit investigation by the police investigating Grenfell.

“But fundamentally, Mr Barwell’s role as the PM’s chief of staff in the two years since Grenfell marks an unacceptable conflict of interest. Even though Theresa May is on the verge of leaving, Mr Barwell should do the decent thing and step aside immediately.”

It came as MPs debating social housing supply in the House of Commons today heard details of the investigation into the missed Lakanal House warnings.

Sarah Jones, Labour’s shadow housing minister, said: “Inside Housing has exposed today, to my horror, the multiple times the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety & Rescue Group pressed, pressed and pressed again for their own ministers to strengthen safety regulations in the wake of the multiple-fatality Lakanal House fire,” she said.

She went on to list at length the various letters sent, as described in Inside Housing’s story.

“The culture of indifference stopped action before Grenfell and two years on we see the same pattern,” she added. “Madam speaker, my plea to the minister is to speed up action.

“I know a consultation on Approved Document B is under way, I know he has launched a consultation on the Hackitt Review recommendations and I know the government had said they will pay for the removal of flammable cladding – but two years on, the fundamentals of the system remain unchanged.


Listen to our investigation in podcast form:


“Flammable cladding remains on buildings, Approved Document B remains unchanged and the accountabilities in the system have not changed. That’s simply not good enough.”

Housing minister Kit Malthouse did not respond to the letters in his speech wrapping up the debate, but he did cite the work the government has done on starting the review of the guidance and implementing the Hackitt Review, which has made recommendations for a number of changes to the system of regulation.

He added that “however long I’m in this job”, safety would remain “one of my primary focuses” as the government increases supply.

Grenfell: two years on

Grenfell: two years on

Picture: Rex Features

We have published a number of articles to mark the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June:

How politicians missed the chance to stop Grenfell: A special investigation looking into the government’s failure to act on the warnings from the fatal Lakanal House fire in 2009 in time to prevent the Grenfell tragedy.

Listen here to an audio version of the article:

Barking fire shows many fire safety gaps remain two years after Grenfell: This week the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy was marked by fire destroying another block of flats. This is why it is time to step up efforts to improve fire safety, writes Martin Hilditch.

Grenfell’s forgotten victims: life on the Lancaster West after the fire Residents of the flats surrounding Grenfell Tower have been through a housing crisis like no other – many diagnosed with PTSD as a result. Luke Barratt hears some of their stories.

Have the promises made after Grenfell been kept?: After the Grenfell Tower fire, people in power made a number of pledges. But two years on from the tragedy, have they been true to their word? Peter Apps finds out.

Grenfell management company ignored Lakanal recommendations after government said they would not be mandatory: A previously unreleased report shows that Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation ignored advice from the Lakanal House fire coroner after Department for Communities and Local Government officials said they would “not become mandatory”.

Barking fire makes the urgent need for action only too clear: The horrific fire in Barking on Sunday is a reminder that there is much to do when it comes to residents’ safety, writes Jules Birch.

We got the Grenfell rehousing process wrong and it is time to apologies to survivors:

The rush to hit arbitrary deadlines in the rehousing process put pressure on survivors, when pressure was the last thing they needed. It’s time to say sorry, again, writes Kim Taylor-Smith, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council.

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