Housing Secretary admits sleepless nights over Grenfell Tower fire inquiry
2 min read
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has claimed he lost sleep over issues surrounding the cause of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, and said that the Government’s response was too slow.
Speaking to Radio 4’s Political Thinking podcast, he said he was “very worried” about the problems raise by the Grenfell Tower fire.
His comments come ahead of the delayed inquiry report into the fire at the North Kensington block of flats, which is due to be published next week.
Mr Jenrick told Radio 4: "Issues like that give you a sense of the gravity of being the person who is ultimately in charge of something that's very significant to the public.
"On that issue, I have genuinely had sleepless nights."
He also admitted that the government had been too slow to respond to the Grenfell tragedy, adding: “I feel as if we need to do a lot more and a lot faster to make sure that people are safe.”
"If, God forbid, there was another incident anything like the Grenfell tragedy tomorrow, how would you explain how that could have happened two and a half years later?"
Speaking to The Guardian, survivors of the 2017 fire have said they fear next week report will fail to adequately criticise the government.
The report is due to be published by inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick on 30 October, the day before the UK’s intended departure from the EU.
Some have condemned the timing, with survivors fearing the report’s recommendations could get “buried in Brexit” if the report is published on that date.
Mr Jenrick, who replaced James Brokenshire as housing secretary earlier this year, met with survivors of the fire earlier this year and described it as “one of the most moving two or three hours of my life.”
The report to be published next week relates to the first phase of the inquiry which ended in December 2018, which investigated the events of the night of the fire.
Phase two of the inquiry is expected to start in January next year, and will examine the causes of the fire.
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