Human Rights Commission to launch independent inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire

Blaze 'defining moment in how inequality is perceived', says chairman

Smoke billows from a tower block severly damaged by a serious fire, in north Kensington, West London 14th June Reuters (Reuters)

Britain's human rights watchdog is to launch an inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Independent public body The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will examine whether the Government and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea failed in their duties to protect life and provide safe housing.

The new probe comes after the main public inquiry, which is chaired by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick, got underway. The official investigation has come under fire for excluding the role social housing policy played in the disaster.

“We think the human rights dimension to Grenfell Tower is absolutely fundamental and is currently overlooked," EHRC chair David Isaac told The Oberver.

"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."

He said lessons needed to be learned from the June blaze, which killed 71 people.

The EHRC inquiry will be carried out by a panel of legal experts who will focus on the obligations of both central and local government under the the Human Rights Act.

A number of attempts to dismantle the Act have been made by Conservatives in recent years, with Theresa May denouncing the legislation a number of times as Home Secretary.

The EHRC inquiry will examine whether the state fulfilled its obligations to residents in the aftermath of the fire and will look into whether the public inquiry is satisfactory.

It will also look into whether the housing provided for the block's residence was adequate and safe, whether certain groups were discriminated against, and whether survivors of the fire have suffered "inhuman and degrading treatment".

Six months on from the fire, four out of five families made homeless are still searching for houses, while almost half could face Christmas in a hotel. In June, the Prime Minister promised families would be rehoused within three weeks.

Many survivors and families of the victims have warned Ms May they may not participate in the official public inquiry unless they are allowed to take an increased role in the review.

A petition calling on the Prime Minister to allow lawyers for bereaved families to see all the evidence and to question witnesses is seeking 100,000 signatures.