The full inquiry report is expected to be published in 2023 and, if criminal proceedings by the Met Police follow, this will happen no earlier than 2024.
One of the legal counsel's final statements declared: “Each and every one of the deaths that occurred in Grenfell Tower, on the 14 June 2017 was avoidable.” The Guardian and the BBC report more on the details of the hearing on their website.
Over five years since the Grenfell fire took place, the Government has yet to implement any of the phase 1 recommendations from the Inquiry - including the compulsory implementation of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for those who are unable to self-evacuate without an aid or assistance. DR UK has been consistently campaigning with Grenfell United and Claddag, a Disabled leaseholders group, on this issue and continues to call for the implementation of the Inquiry recommendations.
Claddag will be taking the Home Office to court on 6 and 7 December at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. This hearing will challenge the Home Office's failure to implement PEEPs, despite 40% of Disabled tenants dying in the Grenfell fire due to a lack of evacuation plans.
Bethany Bale, DR UK Policy and Campaigns Officer, said: "The outcomes of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry impact so many people in this country. Not only the victims and bereaved from the fire, but also the many Disabled tenants who currently live in fear that they cannot safely evacuate their home should they need to. The lack of progress made by the Government on any of the Inquiry recommendations so far is completely unacceptable. We hope that now the Inquiry has finished, we will finally see actions taken to prevent another avoidable tragedy like Grenfell from happening again."
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