Grenfell ministers not above the law, suggests David Lammy

Foreign Secretary says ‘those that need to face justice face it wherever they are’

Ministers are not above the law when it comes to possible prosecutions over the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Foreign Secretary has suggested.
David Lammy told LBC he believed there would be justice for the families of the victims of the west London fire, which killed 72 people in 2017. But he criticised the amount of time it was taking to get people to court, saying it could end up taking more than a decade.
Asked whether ministers who pushed for the deregulation of building standards should be prosecuted, Mr Lammy said: “We are all accountable to the law.”
The Foreign Secretary has campaigned for the Grenfell families since the tragedy. In 2017, he criticised the appointment of Sir Martin Moore-Bick to chair the inquiry because he was a “white upper middle-class man”. He has never apologised for this statement.
In his report, Sir Martin took aim at the drive for deregulation by the coalition and Conservative governments since 2010, which meant concerns about the safety of life had been “ignored, delayed or disregarded” despite the deadly Lakanal House fire, which killed six people in 2009.
Mr Lammy told LBC: “I think there will be justice. There has to be justice if we are genuinely to heal. I’m sitting here in a position where I am around the top table after 24 years in public life, I’m in a position where I am not going to give up.
“Grenfell is one of those injustices sketched into my own life story. I think it was me that called for an inquiry the morning after the fire.”
Asked whether criminal investigations into Grenfell needed to be sped up, he said: “My God, this is a long time for people to wait for justice. This is a long time. We could be talking about a decade, and it is too long. 
“Our system does take too long. I’ve felt that for a long time, and I’ve said it before in relation to other scandals. This is seven years later and then after the prosecutions you could be certainly past a decade and beyond. That’s a process, it seems to me, that takes too long.”
Asked whether ministers who pushed for building standards deregulation should be prosecuted, he said: “It is true that this desire to cut red tape ended up in a situation where, had the building remained a concrete building – not covered in the cladding – these people would be alive today.
“That is deeply, deeply serious and I do think it’s important for the integrity of our system that those lives are recognised and those that need to face justice face it wherever they are. We have to live in a country where it doesn’t matter how powerful you are or what position you hold, we are all accountable to the law.”
Asked whether that includes former government ministers, he replied: “We are all accountable to the law.”
Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service must act “as quickly as possible” over the blaze.
She told Times Radio that “justice delayed is justice denied”, adding: “This is an incredibly complex investigation. 
“And as this is seven years on, and the phase two report is out, and it’s incredibly detailed, there’s considerable volumes to go through, and we will do everything we can to support the Met Police and the CPS to ensure that they can bring their findings and take their action forward as quickly as possible.
“Because, as many of the survivors and the families of the victims have said… justice delayed, is justice denied, and I absolutely agree that this has to come as quickly as possible.”
The Metropolitan Police has said it will need an estimated 12 to 18 months to pore over the report “line by line” before any criminal charges are brought.
The force has previously said a total of 19 companies and organisations were under investigation for potential criminal offences, along with 58 individuals.
Potential offences under consideration include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, misconduct in public office, health and safety offences, fraud, and offences under the fire safety and building regulations.
The deaths of all 72 people in the blaze were avoidable and had been preceded by “decades of failure” by government, other authorities and the building industry, Sir Martin’s report concluded.
The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, he added, with cladding company Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex coming in for particularly heavy criticism.