Grenfell fire inquiry head heckled by residents

The head of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire has been heckled at his first formal meeting with survivors of the disaster.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick said that he would look into the disaster to the "very best" of his ability as he tried to reassure locals that he knows "what it is to be impartial".

The retired judge has already faced calls to resign from the inquiry amid residents’ concerns that his apparent remit may be too narrow.

A video of his meeting with residents showed him being heckled as he said: "I can’t do more than assure you that I know what it is to be impartial.

"I’ve been a judge for 20 years, and I give you my word that I will look into this matter to the very best of my ability and find the facts as I see them from the evidence.

"That’s my job, that’s my training, and that’s what I intend to do.

"Now if I can’t satisfy you because you have some preconception about me as a person, that’s up to you."

At least 80 people died when fire destroyed the 24-storey tower in Kensington in the early hours of 14 June and the building’s cladding has been widely blamed for the speed at which the flames spread.

An official date for the inquiry has yet to be set but Sir Martin said he wanted the terms of reference sorted before Parliament goes into recess, according to a resident who attended the meeting.

Resident Melvyn Akins, 30, said the inquiry would be "an uphill struggle".

He added: "Now you have got somebody coming in (Sir Martin) and saying ‘I am going to look into it all thoroughly’ and it is not good enough.

"People firmly believe that arrests should be made as a result of the outcome of all of this. If arrests are not made, people are going to feel justice may not be being done."

Resident Jacqui Haynes said: "He is trying to rush us so they can give us this document where the devil is in the detail and we will have one week to deal with it.

"They are relying on us giving up, being tired and becoming overwhelmed."

On Wednesday the Government announced it was sending a specialist taskforce to assist Kensington and Chelsea Council with the "long-term recovery effort".

It has also been announced that further tests will be carried out on samples of buildings across the country, after some 190 samples from buildings in 51 local authority areas failed combustibility tests.

Sky News also revealed that improved fire safety standards that could have prevented the fire are promoted to businesses by the same company that advises the Government on building regulations.

(c) Sky News 2017: Grenfell fire inquiry head heckled by residents