Attorney General guarantees cladding firms will not be prosecuted over any evidence they give to Grenfell Tower inquiry on blaze that killed 72
- Suella Braverman wrote to inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick confirming news
- Lawyers for staff involved in Grenfell’s refurbishment had demanded the pledge
- Threatened to stay silent by claiming right of privilege against self-incrimination
The Attorney General today guaranteed that anything said by witnesses to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will not be used to prosecute them over the fire.
Suella Braverman wrote to inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick confirming that the Government had accepted the request from staff involved in refurbishing the high-rise block with flammable materials.
Lawyers from firms including the main contractor and architects involved in revamping the 24-storey tower in west London submitted the last-minute bid for the pledge when the inquiry reopened in January, causing proceedings to be delayed.
Suella Braverman wrote to inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick confirming that the Government had accepted the request from staff involved in refurbishing the high-rise block with flammable materials
Without the Government-backed guarantee, many witnesses had threatened to stay silent by claiming the legal right of privilege against self-incrimination.
Ms Braverman’s office said she “had concluded that the undertaking is needed to enable the inquiry to continue to hear vital evidence about the circumstances and causes of the fire. Without it she has concluded that some witnesses would be likely to decline to give evidence”.
In a statement, she said: “The undertaking I am providing to the inquiry means it can continue to take evidence from witnesses who otherwise would likely refuse to answer questions.
“These questions are important to finding out the truth about the circumstances of the fire. The undertaking will not jeopardise the police investigation or prospects of a future criminal prosecution.”
Sir Martin said he had sought the pledge to allow individual witnesses to furnish the public hearings with a truthful account without fear for the future, allowing him to make recommendations based on the fullest body of evidence possible.
The proposed undertaking will cover oral evidence from individual witnesses only.
It does not mean companies or individuals cannot be prosecuted. Evidence given to the inquiry in written statements or documents can be used against them in any future prosecution, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Scotland Yard is carrying out its own investigation into possible crimes ranging from gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter to health and safety offences over the 2017 fire which killed 72 people
Sir Martin said the Metropolitan Police did not suggest that granting the undertaking would “hamper” their concurrent investigations.
Scotland Yard is carrying out its own investigation into possible crimes ranging from gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter to health and safety offences over the 2017 fire which killed 72 people.
The application for protections related to witnesses from firms including external wall subcontractor Harley Facades, main contractor Rydon, architects Studio E, and window and cladding fitters Osborne Berry.
The second stage of the inquiry previously heard that the main designers and contractors involved in the refurbishment appeared to predict that the cladding system would fail in a fire, up to two years before the disaster.