EHRC launches ‘pointless’ Grenfell review

A human rights watchdog was accused of wasting public money yesterday after it launched a review of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The taxpayer-funded Equality and Human Rights Commission said its review would run at the same time as the Government-ordered public inquiry into the fire, and would examine much of the same evidence.

It will scrutinise whether the Government and the local council failed in their duties to protect lives and provide safe housing – and could make damning findings about their role in the blaze, which killed 71 people.

A human rights watchdog was accused of wasting public money yesterday after it launched a review of the Grenfell Tower tragedy

It will study the official response and question if survivors and the bereaved suffered ‘inhumane and degrading treatment’ while they waited for support and re-housing.

And it will analyse the Government’s investigation into the fire – including the public inquiry itself.

Critics questioned why a separate human rights review was necessary when a public inquiry was already under way. The TaxPayers’ Alliance branded it ‘pointless’.

The review was welcomed by families affected by the fire, who have threatened to boycott the official public inquiry unless they are allowed more direct involvement. 

They have called for retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick to sit with a panel including members of the community, but he rejected the request as it could jeopardise the inquiry’s independence and impartiality.

Sir Martin was today due to start two days of hearings on how the inquiry will run. A spokesman said survivors would be allowed to participate throughout.

The EHRC said its review would run at the same time as the Government-ordered public inquiry into the fire, and would examine much of the same evidence

The EHRC said its review would run at the same time as the Government-ordered public inquiry into the fire, and would examine much of the same evidence

The EHRC applied to become a core participant in the inquiry, meaning it could receive evidence in advance and question witnesses, but its application was rejected. 

It said there would be ‘some overlap’ between its work and the inquiry’s, but said it had a duty to ensure questions of human rights and equality were not neglected.

EHRC chairman David Isaac told The Observer: ‘We think the human rights dimension to Grenfell Tower is absolutely fundamental and is currently overlooked.

Equality chief rakes in £500k as City lawyer 

David Isaac, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

David Isaac, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

David Isaac’s appointment as chairman of Britain’s human rights watchdog was initially blocked by MPs because of his £500,000-a-year role with a City legal firm.

MPs questioned if he could hold the Government to account while working for a law firm which earned millions from Government contracts, while critics decried him as a champagne socialist.

Appearing in front of MPs, Mr Isaac admitted his £50,000 salary as chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission was dwarfed by his £500,000 annual income as a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons. His appointment was eventually approved after he said he would not advise Government clients or profit from his firm’s Government work during his chairmanship.

The Labour supporter, 59, is a former chairman of gay rights group Stonewall and a former trustee of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. He was awarded a CBE in 2011 for services to equality and diversity.

The lawyer has said he wants to use the commission’s dwindling budget to focus on fewer issues, but still maximise its impact. The EHRC, which is funded through the Department for Education, has seen its funding cut from £62million in 2010 to £20million last year.

‘Grenfell for most people in this country, particularly in the way the Government has reacted, is a pretty defining moment in terms of how inequality is perceived.’

The EHRC said it would provide commentary on evidence heard by the inquiry, and would make its own submissions to Sir Martin. It is expected to make a series of recommendations in April.

Sir Martin has said he hopes to publish a preliminary report by Easter. A second phase of his inquiry will consider the response to the fire, including advice to Grenfell residents to ‘stay put’ and wait for rescue, rather than try to escape the building.

The former judge said his team planned to interview almost 500 witnesses, including 225 tower residents and 260 firefighters. More than 400 individuals and organisations have been granted core participant status and will be entitled to submit written statements.

Given the scale of the inquiry, critics questioned why the EHRC review was necessary. Alex Wild of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘This is a classic case of a pointless public body desperately trying to justify its own existence … It’s time the Government revisited the role of all public bodies and closed down those like the EHRC which serve no purpose other than wasting taxpayers’ money.’

In 2012, a Government report found the EHRC provided poor value for money. At that time it received £60million a year in funding, which has now been cut to £20million. Mr Isaac told Channel 4 News: ‘It is not our intention to undermine the official inquiry. We respect the inquiry.’

An inquiry spokesman said: ‘We welcome any evidence the commission can provide that is relevant to the matters covered by our terms of reference.’ A police probe into the tragedy is also under way.

 



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