Grenfell Fire Inquiry's shocking findings laid bare - 72 deaths blamed on 'decades of failure'

The tower, in west London, was covered in flammable cladding due to the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold the material, Moore-Bick said.

He added that each one of the 72 deaths in the blaze were avoidable, and the people who lived and died in the high-rise block had "badly failed" by authorities and the construction industry through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.

In the years before the fire, politicians pushing for deregulation 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, the report said.

After Lakanal House, the agenda to cut red tape was "enthusiastically supported" by political figures in charge, it added, while the coroner's recommendations were ignored and dismissed by officials and ministers.

By 2016, just a year before the Grenfell fire, the Government was "well aware" of the risks of using flammable cladding and insulation, particularly in high-rise buildings, "but failed to act on what it knew".

Cladding firm Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex were torn apart at the report's unveiling.

Arconic was found to have "deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger" of using its products - particularly on high-rise buildings.

While Kingspan, even after the inquiry began in the wake of the fire, had "knowingly created a false market in insulation" for use on buildings over 18 metres", the report said.

Then, Celotex, in an attempt to break into this market created by Kingspan, "embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market", Moore-Bick concluded.

Reacting to the report's release, Sir Keir Starmer said it identified "substantial and widespread failings" and pledged that the Government would carefully consider the report and its recommendations "to ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again".

The PM added: "My thoughts today are wholly with those bereaved by, and survivors of, the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the residents in the immediate community. This day is for them.

"I hope that Sir Martin's report can provide the truth they have sought for so long, and that it is step towards the accountability and justice they deserve."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the residents of Grenfell Tower "paid a price for systemic dishonesty, corporate greed and institutional indifference and neglect".

As Khan paid tribute to the 72 lives lost, he issued a blistering attack on authorities and building firms, saying the fire "isn't just a heart-breaking tragedy, it's a horrific injustice and a national disgrace".

The Mayor continued: "Profit has been put before people... [It] isn't just shameful, it's utterly indefensible."

READ MORE:

• Developers must put their hands in their pockets and replace cladding, says Grenfell MP
  
• Grenfell victims' families left furious after Tower edited out of TV advert
  
• London building with ‘non-compliant’ cladding ERUPTS in flames as 20 residents rescued and 80 others evacuated
  

The Metropolitan Police said it was a "significant milestone for those deeply affected by the tragedy".

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy called the report "direct and comprehensive", and praised its "clear conclusions" as he warned police had "one chance to get our investigation right".

In their own investigation, police are examining the roles of:

• The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council.
• The council's tenant management organisation.
• Firms involved in building work.
• Other companies which supplied and manufactured building materials.

He continued: "I can't pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on the bereaved and survivors, but we have one chance to get our investigation right.

"We will be thorough and diligent in our investigation while moving as swiftly as possible. We owe that to those who died and all those affected by the tragedy."

London Fire Brigade commissioner Andy Roe said: "On this day, our thoughts remain with the 72 people who lost their lives, the survivors, their families, and the entire Grenfell community. We must never forget the impact the tragedy has had on that community.

"On the night of the fire, the brigade faced the most formidable challenge that any fire service in the UK has confronted in living memory.

"Staff responding to the fire on the night of the tragedy, as well as members of other emergency services who attended in support of the brigade, showed extreme courage in the face of the most appalling of circumstances."

Earlier today, Ricky Nuttall, a firefighter who was forced to abandon an attempt to rescue a resident from the tower's 15th floor, said there were a "cataclysmic series of failings" in the building, speaking to the BBC.

Nuttall told the broadcaster that he was running out of air, and alongside a colleague, they decided an attempt to reach the victim would have left "three people in mortal danger rather than one".

The Fire Brigades Union said it had "always argued" that the fault for the fire lay at the feet of central Government - and its general secretary, Matt Wrack, said the report "completely vindicates" their position.

The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which managed Grenfell Tower at the time of the fire, accepted that it contributed to the fire and was "deeply sorry".

It added: "We continue to offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to all those affected. We sincerely hope that the findings of this comprehensive report will lead to safer homes for all those in social housing."

Grenfell United, which represents some of the bereaved and survivors of the fire, said the report "speaks to a lack of competence, understanding and a fundamental failure to perform the most basic of duties of care" - and demanded that the firms named as responsible should be banned from being handed Government contracts in future.

While the report marks a "significant chapter" in the years since the fire, they added, "justice has not been delivered", and called on police and prosecutors to "ensure that those who are truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice".