Skip to main content
Senior fire engineer tells inquiry she didn't think Grenfell's cladding would pose problems
Fire service personnel inside Grenfell Tower in west London in June 2017

A SENIOR fire engineer did not think that the cladding on Grenfell Tower would pose problems to fire safety during early discussions about the refurbishment of the block. 

Clare Barker, the former principal fire engineer at Exova, told the inquiry into the disaster today that she had not raised the need for a separate fire safety assessment to be made for the proposed cladding system.

Exova produced the fire safety strategy, a set of measures encompassing fire precautions and protections, for the proposed works of the building in 2012-13. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
POLICING THE POLICE: GLC leader Ken Livingstone (centre), wi
Features / 10 March 2023
10 March 2023
In an exclusive investigation, BETHANY RIELLY looks at how the state targeted leading politicians and campaigning groups — labelling many well-known figures 'extremists' and 'subversives' for attempting to hold the police to account
Eritrean female soldiers
Features / 12 December 2022
12 December 2022
On September 4, 16 Eritrean asylum-seekers were arrested at a protest against their country’s dictatorship and its supporters here. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the British authorities are doing enough to protect activists and asylum-seekers from the ‘long arm’ of the regime in Asmara
Similar stories
JUSTICE DENIED: People take part in a silent march near Gren
Features / 7 September 2024
7 September 2024
DIANE ABBOTT MP argues we need unlimited fines and jail time for the guilty firms that dodged responsibility through legal loopholes — but most of all we need an end to the ‘bonfire of red tape’ and deadly Thatcherite ideology
JUSTICE DENIED: Matt Wrack speaking in front of Grenfell yes
Features / 5 September 2024
5 September 2024
Despite the damning report, cladding fires continue to threaten lives, and justice has not been done. MATT WRACK demands a radical overhaul of building safety regulations and public ownership of the inspection system
Smoke billows from a fire that engulfed the 24-storey Grenfe
Britain / 4 September 2024
4 September 2024
Inquiry finds fire the result of ‘decades of failure’ by the government and construction industry