On Wednesday, Theresa May announced she was pledging £400m to remove Grenfell-style cladding but today, shortly after the release of a report on the Grenfell Tower blaze which ruled out an outright ban on combustible cladding, we are told that the government will now be ‘consulting’ on the cladding ban.
It beggars belief that the report would not recommend an outright ban on highly combustible cladding and has come as quite a surprise to many, including David Lammy, who certainly didn’t hide his shock today when he labelled it a ‘betrayal and a whitewash’.
So, why would a government commissioned review, led by Dame Judith Hackitt, come to such a conclusion? Perhaps we need to take a close look at Dame Hackitt’s background?
The first thing you need to know is that even back in August last year there were a lot of concerns about Judith Hackitt;s appointment, with a number of critics warning that she was basically unfit for the role. The Times newspaper reported at the time how Hackitt had left the Energy Saving Trust, which was responsible for approving insulation materials just 24 hours before she was appointed to head up the buildings review. Looking a little deeper, we also discover that Dame Judith Hackitt is currently……
• Chair, EEF (manufacturers’ association) – the largest sectoral employers’ organisation in the UK
• Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chair of their External Affairs Committee
• Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a member of its council.
In fact, Hackitt has a long history in the manufacturing industry. Having worked for Exxon Chemicals for 15 years, she was the Director General of the Chemical Industries Association (a leading national trade association for chemical engineering and pharmaceutical companies in the UK), she was a Non-Exec director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (manufacturing research centres) and the President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
Incidentally, in 2007, she was appointed Chair of the Health and Safety Commission and, between 2008 and 2016, she was Chair of the Health and Safety Executive. Odd appointments for someone with such close ties to the manufacturing, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries.
It’s assumed, therefore, that Hackitt’s appointment to head up the building review was more of a considered damage limitation exercise.
On a side note, it’s worth observing how Theresa May timed her announcement of the £400m pledge to come out, literally the day before Hackitt’s report was due to be published. There’s every likelihood the the PM would have been aware of the contents of the report in advance (these reviews tend to be overseen by ministers after all). It seems likely, therefore, that the PM was hoping to cultivate recognition and kudos for something she had no real intention of seeing through.
SOURCES:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grenfell-fire-review-chief-dame-judith-hackitt-unfit-for-role-warn-critics-hgswqsh8m
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/16/theresa-may-pledges-400m-to-remove-grenfell-style-cladding
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44148694
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grenfell-tower-report-cladding-david-lammy-fire-death-dame-judith-hackitt-a8355466.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Hackitt
Koser Saeed
