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A major fire safety company connected to the chair of the government’s independent expert panel provided advice for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, the inquiry has heard.
Sam Stein QC, representing survivors of the fire at the inquiry, revealed that Exova Warrington was the fire safety consultant for the refurbishment, which has been widely blamed for causing the fire to spread rapidly.
Sir Ken Knight, the chair of the government’s expert panel, was chair of the ‘impartiality committee’ and a director at Warrington Certification, part of Exova, before he was appointed by the government in June following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Sir Ken was a director of Warrington Certification from 2004 to July last year, according to Companies House.
Exova Warringtonfire and Warrington Certification are both subsidiaries of Exova UK. Exova is a giant multinational fire safety firm operating in several countries.
Sir Ken has already faced criticism for this role, after it emerged that while in that position he signed a certificate saying Grenfell-style cladding could be used on high rises in 2012.
Mr Stein, in his opening statement, said that in Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation’s (KCTMO) evidence it stated, “that Exova noted that the proposed changes would have no effect on the building in relation to external fire spread and that this was to be confirmed by future analysis”.
It is not suggested that Sir Ken had any involvement in this report, and he resigned as chair of the committee before taking the expert role and as director shortly afterwards.
The government has been contacted for comment.
According to Mr Stein, KCTMO stated that it believes “that Exova conducted that further analysis and gave such confirmation to [the architects] Studio E”.
Mr Stein added: “What plans was Exova ever asked to report on, if they did not identify the cladding and rainscreen? At present, we have no reason offered for their preliminary conclusion that the refurbishment works will have no adverse effect on the building in relation to external fire spread.
“Nor is it even identified what changes were being preliminarily approved as having no adverse effect.”
He displayed to the inquiry a copy of Exova’s fire strategy for the Grenfell refurbishment, which made no reference to cladding.
However, he said, he has seen “documentation which has Exova included on the distribution list which makes reference to the proposed cladding”.
The role of the impartiality committee, which Sir Ken chaired, is to ensure Warrington Certification acts impartially and includes an independent review of any changes to the certification schemes.
Its impartiality to the testing and consulting businesses of Exova Warringtonfire is audited annually by UKAS.
Mr Stein also referred to Carl Stokes, the man revealed by Inside Housing last June as the fire risk assessor for Grenfell Tower.
He said that in his last risk assessment of the tower, he concluded there was only a risk of “slight harm” in the event of fire.
A spokesperson for Exova said: "Exova’s specialist fire consultancy division provided some limited consulting services to Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation Limited (“KCTMO”), related to fire strategy and building regulations, as part of KCTMO’s overall fire safety strategy, ahead of the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower block. This work was conducted mainly in 2013 and primarily focused on the refurbishment of the bottom four floors of the block, which were to undergo a material change of use with the creation of new apartments.
"At the time of its engagement, Exova was not supplied with any detailed specification in relation to any proposed cladding system, and so was not in a position to comment in that regard. The summary of the proposed refurbishment at the start of the outline fire strategy report produced by Exova in 2013 (which reflected the brief given by the client) accordingly did not include any mention of cladding. Exova made it clear in that report that any impact on external fire spread would need to be confirmed as part of a later report. Exova was not subsequently instructed or engaged to produce a further report, nor was it engaged for the later stages of design, material selection, construction or sign-off of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment project. In particular, Exova did not select, test, review or approve the cladding systems that were finally chosen and installed. Any suggestion or report to the contrary would be completely incorrect.
"We have fully supported the public inquiry from its inception, including providing extensive disclosure and access to all relevant information at the inquiry’s request, and we will continue to do so until the inquiry’s work is complete."
Update: at 12.15pm, 06.06.18 This story was updated to include Exova’s statement
Closing statements
Day 85: victims' lawyers attack the fire brigade
Further expert evidence
Including some additional evidence from emergency call handlers, bereaved and relatives
Day 84: further evidence from survivors and relatives
Day 83: swift evacuation of tower possible if residents alerted
Day 82: initial fire was extinguished but then returned to the flat
Day 81: overheating fridge-freezer most likely cause of fire
Day 80: fire doors installed did not match product tested
Day 79: resident advised to stay put despite fire in flat
Day 78: insulation and cladding material below required standard
Day 77: molten plastic spread blaze down tower
Day 76: 'stay put' should be dropped when fire spreads across floors
Other witness evidence
Police, ambulance, gas suppliers, council, TMO and call room operators give evidence
Day 75: call room operators give evidence
Day 74: further evidence from TMO officers
Day 73: TMO boss failed to pass information to firefighters
Day 72: fire finally extinguished when gas switched off
Day 71: further questions over stay put advice
Day 70: the police evidence
The bereaved, survivors and relatives’ evidence
Day 69: video shows smoke billowing through fire door
Day 68: KCTMO removed self closing mechanism and never replaced it
Day 67: gaps in cladding fixed with duct tape
Day 66: 'don't fix broken system with a sticking plaster'
Day 65: survivor dragged disabled man down nine floors to safety
Day 64: KCTMO 'did not replace broken fire door'
Day 63: foam insulation inside cladding 'exposed' says survivor
Day 62: father gives harrowing account of son's death
Day 61: council’s management organisation slammed for faulty electrics
Day 60: stay put advice ‘led to deaths’, residents say
Day 59: residents describe problems with new windows
Day 58: survivor describes how daughter saved his life
Day 57: firefighter evidence ‘a slap in the face’, says survivor
Day 56: relations with contractor were ‘toxic’
Day 55: resident 'never happy' with stay-put advice
Day 54: tenant gives evidence about housing association
Day 53: stay put advice 'felt like trap'
Day 52: resident saved by son's phone call
The firefighters’ evidence
Day 51: firefighter feared encouraging residents to jump
Day 50: the LFB commissioner
Day 49: fire chief reveals frustration over lack of building plans
Day 48: internal fire spread 'bigger story' than cladding
Day 47: fire officer considered evacuating crews over building collapse fears
Day 46: 'we were improvising' senior firefighter admits
Day 45: firefighter urged for abandonment of 'stay put' policy
Day 44: firefighter recalls radio signal difficulties
Day 43: call hander 'uncomfortable' with insisting residents stay put
Day 42: residents only told to leave if they called fire brigade back
Day 41: breathing equipment delay 'hampered rescues on upper floors'
Day 40: chiefs told firefighters to abandon policy
Day 39: firefighters reveal dramatic rescue of children
Day 38: firefighters issue aplogies to families
Day 37: council 'unable to provide tower plans'
Day 36: QC defends inquiry process
Day 35: Javid would welcome interim recommendations
Day 34: water from hose 'too weak' to reach the flames
Day 33: 'oh my god, we've been telling people to stay put'
Day 32: further fire fighter describes lack of equipment and low water pressure
Day 31: 'incredibly difficult' task of recording information outlined
Day 30: struggle to maintain control over rescue operation described
Day 29: fire service 'overwhelmed' by survival guidance calls
Day 28: 'the building beat us'
Day 27: firefighters 'forced to abandon plans to reach roof'
Day 26: poor signage hindered rescue efforts
Day 25: water pressure left firefighting equipment 'like garden hose'
Day 24: decision to abandon 'stay put' explored
Day 23: TV images 'could have assissted' rescue effort
Day 22: description of hectic scenes in the control centre
Day 21: account from the fire service 'nerve centre'
Day 20: firefighter describes 'huge volume' of calls from trapped residents
Day 19: firefighter 'given no training on cladding fires'
Day 18: evacuation would have been 'huge catastrophe'
Day 17: firefighters describe access and lift issues
Day 16: scenes of carnage likened to 9/11
Day 15: firefighters recount trauma of survival guidance calls
Day 14: firefighters describe spread of blaze
Day 13: firefighters recall radio difficulties
Day 12: "it was like a war zone"
Day 11: questions raised over fire fighters' radios
Day 10: watch manager emotional under questioning
Day nine: lead firefighter 'not trained in stay put policy'
The expert reports: authors give evidence to inquiry
Day eight: where the fire started
Day seven: what was in the cladding?
Day six: the cause and spread of the fire
Day five: expert highlights key issues
Day four: firefighters defend response to fire
Day three: council and contractors appear for the first time
Day two: lawyers for the survivors make their case
Day one: expert evidence released on cladding and stay put
The commemoration hearings
30 May: Grenfell Council 'recognised it should not house disabled victim above four storeys'
29 May: Anger on day six of the Grenfell Inquiry
25 May: Grenfell families 'forced to live in chimney with stay put policy'
24 May: Grenfell family complained about father being housed on 17th floor
23 May: Tributes to children on third day of Grenfell hearings
22 May: Emotions run high as Grenfell bereaved shown footage of the tower burning
21 May: Grenfell victims share tributes as inquiry opens