197 Aftermath of the fire: Central government and the Mayor of London
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast
BBC
4.8 • 627 Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2022
⏱️ 35 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
This week, the Inquiry heard about the confusion, lack of grip and poor communication within Whitehall, as ministers and civil servants dealt with the aftermath of the fire. Nick Hurd was given the initial responsibility for leading the government’s response, despite being only two days into his ministerial position at the time of the Grenfell fire. He described the government’s actions as “wholly inadequate”. A senior civil servant described the local authority's response to residential complaints about housing as a “sign of defensiveness” and the Mayor of London’s chief of staff said that Grenfell residents were “failed by us as a society”. Presenter: Kate Lamble Producers: Sharon Hemans and Kristiina Cooper Researcher: Marcia Veiga Sound Engineer: Gareth Jones Editor: Hugh Levinson
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Hello and welcome to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry podcast with me, Kate Lamble. |
| 0:09.8 | This week, the inquiry heard about confusion, lack of grip and poor communication in Whitehall |
| 0:15.1 | as ministers and civil servants dealt with the aftermath of the Grenfell fire. |
| 0:19.7 | The minister who led the government's immediate response said it was wholly inadequate. |
| 0:24.3 | I'm ashamed of the failure of the system I was part of to provide, you know, |
| 0:30.4 | fellow citizens with the most basic support and comfort that they had every reason to feel |
| 0:36.1 | totally entitled to. |
| 0:37.8 | Let's get started with the evidence then. |
| 0:40.0 | Nick Hurd is the only politician who will give evidence about the aftermath of the fire. |
| 0:44.6 | In 2017, he'd just taken on the role of Home Office Minister |
| 0:47.9 | with responsibility for the fire service and police. |
| 0:51.4 | Today, he acts as an independent advisor to the government on Grenfell, |
| 0:55.5 | a role he was appointed to in March 2020, a few months after he stepped down as a Conservative MP. |
| 1:02.2 | Nick Hurd told the inquiry that in this role, his remit is very broad, but in recent months, |
| 1:07.2 | he's been addressing the highly sensitive issue of the future of Grenfell Tower. |
| 1:11.8 | The lead counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett, asked whether there was a conflict of interest |
| 1:15.5 | between Nick Hurd's position as Boris Johnson's Grenfell advisor and being a factual witness to this inquiry. |
| 1:22.1 | I think the basis of the ongoing relationship was rooted in a desire to see some continuity |
| 1:26.7 | because there was a recognition |
| 1:28.5 | that the Secretary of State had come and gone, ministers had come and gone, and that there was |
| 1:32.5 | value in having some people helping to advise who'd been involved in the process since the immediate |
... |
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