Grenfell inquiry halted after members of the public start shouting 'what's the point?'
Monday 2 March 2020 13:35, UK
A Grenfell inquiry hearing was adjourned minutes after it began following outbursts from members of the public.
The inquiry into the disaster which killed 72 people in 2017 resumed on Monday morning after lawyers for witnesses submitted a last-minute legal bid seeking protections for oral evidence.
However it was adjourned within a few minutes after some people shouted "have you sold your soul yet, Sir Martin" as inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick invited Andrzej Kuszell, director of Studio E architects, to start giving evidence.
Other members of the public were heard saying "what's the point", "why don't you ask the corporates to leave", "it's a disgrace" and "what's the f* point".
When the hearing resumed following the interruption, one man in the room said: "These people are not bereaved and survivors."
Several people were escorted from the hearing room during the 10-minute break.
Sir Martin responded: "I don't know who they are, I recognise most of the faces I see in front of me, and I'm very pleased to see you here every day and I know how strongly you all feel about this."
The chairman of the inquiry also said: "I was slightly surprised because, during the phase one hearings I was very impressed by the way in which everyone listened to the witnesses in a respectful and dignified way.
"Obviously, you may hear things that you don't like to hear, and people may feel strongly about some of the evidence but it's very important [...] that the witnesses are allowed to give their evidence with dignity and respect from everyone."
The angry scenes came after the Fire Brigades Union said the inquiry "must finally learn" how the high-rise block became a "death trap" after hearings were delayed by almost a month.
Survivors have said they will "not settle for anything less" than criminal prosecutions after Attorney General Suella Braverman guaranteed anything said by witnesses will not be used to prosecute them.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said the inquiry "should leave no stone unturned and we must finally learn what led to Grenfell becoming such a death trap, so those responsible can be held to account."
Speaking after the public outbursts, Sir Martin said: "I was slightly surprised because, during the phase one hearings I was very impressed by the way in which everyone listened to the witnesses in a respectful and dignified way.
"Obviously, you may hear things that you don't like to hear and people may feel strongly about some of the evidence, but it's very important... that the witnesses are allowed to give their evidence with dignity and respect from everyone."
Victims' group Grenfell United said last week's ruling from Ms Braverman marked a "sad day" and that "truth at the inquiry must not come at the expense of justice and prosecutions".
The second stage of the inquiry is considering how the 24-storey tower in west London came to be covered in flammable material, which fuelled the spread of the deadly fire after an electrical fault with a fridge freezer.