Grenfell Tower report: Fire union chief hits back at ‘back-to-front’ criticism saying ministers are ‘evading scrutiny’

A fire union chief has hit back at the condemnation of the fire service in the Grenfell report, accusing Government ministers of “evading criticism”.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, said that the inquiry was “back-to-front”, meaning firefighters were being scrutinized ahead of those responsible for “wrapping” the tower block in “flammable cladding”.

Fewer people would have died in the disaster if London Fire Brigade had not suffered “serious shortcomings” and “systemic” failures in its response to the fire, the official report into the tragedy has concluded.

Although Mr Wrack has not read the report , seen by The Telegraph , he told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “The inquiry is back-to-front.

“You should look at the causation and who took the decisions and the regime to allow that to happen – because there are Government ministers who are evading scrutiny in this process.”

He said the inquiry should have first looked at “the real causes of what happened to Grenfell and why flammable cladding was wrapped around the building”.

“People will be baffled that people who did that have not already been prosecuted for doing that to a building which led to the deaths of 72 people,” Mr Wrack said.

“Yet the actions of individual firefighters on the night of a fire are being scrutinized.”

Pointing out that there had never been a mass evacuation of a residential building in Britain before Grenfell, Mr Wrack said the context of the decisions on the night were taken against the backdrop of a “building that had completely failed”.

In office blocks, there are fire regulations, fire wardens and drills, the fire brigade union chief said, but there was no way to alert residents to leave a building en masse due to there being no universal fire alarm system.

On the night in June 2017, residents were told to remain in their flats by firefighters and 999 operators for nearly two hours after the blaze broke out at 12.54am even though by then the fire was out of control.

The “stay put” strategy – designed for tower block fires where the blaze is contained – was only rescinded at 2.47am.

Sir Martin states in his report: “That decision could and should have been made between 1.30am and 1.50am and would be likely to have resulted in fewer fatalities. The best part of an hour was lost before Assistant Commissioner Roe revoked the 'stay put' advice.”

Mr Wrack told Today : “I have called on Government ministers for months. At the inquiry we asked last December we called on the Government to initiate a national review of stay put.

“Why has nobody done anything in all those months since then? That’s a failure in our view of the inquiry and of Government.”

The damning 1,000-page report also accuses Dany Cotton, London Fire Brigade's commissioner , of “remarkable insensitivity” after she gave testimony insisting she would have done nothing differently.

Asked whether he agreed with Ms Cotton, Mr Wrack said: “No, I don’t think she was right.

“On my first day at training school, I was taught that you learn something from every incident that you attend and you adapt your knowledge based on those experiences.”

The report, seen by The Telegraph , will fuel demands by victims' families for the fire brigade to be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter .

Relatives are also angry that Ms Cotton, Britain's most senior firefighter, is being allowed to retire next year at the age of 50 on a full pension estimated to be worth as much as £2 million.

Mr Wrack said it would be “preferable” for Ms Cotton to remain in her post and defend her role and the actions of her firefighters.

He added: “I think she’s retiring and she’s entitled to do so under the terms of her pension.

“I think that’s a matter for her, but I don’t think she should because the danger is that she becomes a scapegoat.

“And I don’t think she should. The issues about Grenfell Tower runs far, far deeper than one person.”