Suella Braverman, the attorney general, said: “ It is important to find out the truth of the circumstances of the June 2017 fire in which 72 people were killed, so key witnesses in the Grenfell Tower inquiry have won a bid to prevent their oral evidence being used against them in a criminal trial and the decision was necessary to encourage witnesses involved in the tower’s botched refurbishment to respond to questions at a public inquiry that they otherwise might have refused to answer”.
Grenfell United, a grouping of survivors and bereaved families, said it was a “sad day when the bereaved and survivors are asked to choose between the need for truth and the need for justice”.
“The people responsible for knowingly encasing our families in a death trap and the people that allowed them to do it must face the full force of the law. We expect criminal prosecutions at the end of this and will not settle for anything less”.
Executive involved in a refurbishment of the block have been called to give evidence to the second phase of the inquiry, which is examining causes of the fire and decisions made by companies and individuals, while the first phase reported on action taken on the night of the disaster, criticising the fire safety regime and the fire brigade’s response.
The immunity given to witnesses for the second phase does not protect individuals from being prosecuted on other evidence and does not protect the companies themselves.
Key corporate witnesses including the cladding provider Harley Facades and architects Studio E, requested immunity from prosecution for themselves and their companies in January 2020.