Grenfell Inquiry latest: Years of government and industry failures turned Grenfell into a 'death trap', damning report says - as survivors say 'justice not served'

Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved families, issued a statement on the report’s findings.

The statement was read out by the group’s chair, Natasha Elcock. You can watch her speak here, or read the statement in full below.

“Today marks the end of six painful years in which we have heard the testimonies of the deaths of 54 adults and 18 children, our loved ones, our neighbors and our friends. This is an important chapter in the journey toward truth, justice and change. But justice has not been served.”

“The inquiry report reveals that whenever there is a conflict between corporate interests and public safety, governments have done everything they can to avoid assuming their responsibilities for the safety of citizens. The system is not broken, it was built that way.”

“This demonstrates a lack of skill, understanding and a fundamental failure to perform the most basic duties of care.

“The recommendations released today are basic security principles that should already exist, highlighting how the roles, duties and obligations of government have been emptied of substance by privatisation.

“Where gaps were created when the government outsourced its tasks, Kingspan, Celotex and Arconic filled the gaps with inferior and combustible materials.

“They were allowed to manipulate testing regimes, fraudulently and knowingly marketing their products as safe.

“Sir Martin Moore-Bick has laid bare his distrust of the building industry: no single publication such as Approved Document B should subsequently be used as a means of regulating fire safety and ensuring public safety.

“The government knew this was not a way to regulate. It was meant to be exploited.

“Our lawyers told the inquiry that the major players in the industry – Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex – were ‘little better than crooks and killers’.

“The report clearly shows that this statement is absolutely true. In most cases, we have failed because of our incompetence and, in many cases, because of calculated dishonesty and greed.

“The government’s duty should be to protect life, while protecting us from corporate greed. But for too long, it has helped corporations, allowing them to make profits and impose regulations.

“It is a damning indictment of this country that amateurs (like Carl Stokes and Brian Martin) can masquerade as experts, putting countless lives at risk and taking the lives of our loved ones.

“There is a reading of the inquiry hidden in plain sight that speaks both to the damage done to Grenfell Tower and to the wider damage done to Britain.

“It’s a serious problem for the whole country when governments invite companies to write their own rules.

“The government must now exercise control over the sector to prevent further dismantling of public security, which was once seen as their primary mission, not as aiding and abetting crooks and killers.

“To avoid a future Grenfell, the government must create something that does not exist: a government with the power and capacity to separate itself from the construction industry and corporate lobbying, putting people before profit.

“Above all, the judge concludes what we already knew: that every loss of life was preventable.

“We expect this government to break with old habits and implement without further delay all the recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick in the inquiry report, because it is already three decades too late to address this problem.

We call on the government to ban Arconic, Kingspan, Celotex and Rydon from central and local government procurement processes. And finally start acting in the interests of the British public.

“We expect the Metropolitan Police and the CPS to ensure that those truly responsible are held to account and brought to justice.

“We must never forget that at the heart of this inquiry report is the fact that 72 people lost their lives.”