Families of Grenfell Tower fire victims today claimed they have been “made invisible” as an inquiry into the disaster resumed in their absence.
This morning was the first time evidence into the fire which claimed 72 lives had been heard for three-and-a-half months, after hearings stopped due to coronavirus.
However families of those who died, survivors and local residents will not be present at the Paddington hearing due to health and safety measures. They will only be able to watch the proceedings as they are streamed online, despite calls for the inquiry to relent and let in those most affected by the disaster.
A group of relatives of 30 people who died gathered this morning at the Grenfell Tower memorial wall, saying they felt “sidelined” by the legal and inquiry process and ignored over three years since the disaster on June 14, 2017.
“We are not invisible. We were simply hijacked and made invisible,” said Masood Shahabedin, speaking for the group.
“We have to be normal but carry this burden. But on top of that, instead of the systems helping us, asking us what can we do to help you to make this process easier, every single day, it’s something new. We have had to fight for recognition.” He added: “We are not prepared to suffer the horrific loss of life in the most gruesome, traumatic way, be put through this brutalising system created by the Government and this council and the justice system, and at the same time be sidelined as though our lives don’t matter.”
At the start of proceedings this morning Sir Martin Moore-Bick, chairman of the inquiry, said he “greatly regretted” that victims and survivors were not present, but promised to monitor government guidelines and “take whatever steps open to us to ensure our hearings are as accessible to the public as possible”.
Only Sir Martin and his panel, counsel to the inquiry, witnesses and their lawyers, and essential staff will be in the hearing room, as well as a single Press Association reporter.
A large group of survivors and bereaved have attended each day for months of hearings, but they, along with dozens of lawyers, reporters, and members of the public, must now follow proceedings via a livestream on the inquiry website and YouTube.
The inquiry has said its new set-up has been forced by government safety rules, with two-metre social distancing required as well as temperature checks being carried out on arrival and hand sanitiser to be used in the lobby area. This week’s evidence will focus on fire engineers at Exova, who are accused of not raising the alarm about dangerous cladding being planned for a refurbishment of the tower.
Executives from Rydon, who managed the project, are due to be questioned in the coming weeks, as well as officials from Kensington and Chelsea council and its Tenant Management Organisation.
Last month, the Evening Standard revealed how more than 100 firefighters and police officers who faced the horrors of the Grenfell disaster have launched compensation claims over the alleged trauma they suffered.
A group of survivors and relatives of victims have also launched their own High Court actions, suing for damages from the council over the fire.