Latest news with #RBKC
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Grenfell fire fridge maker accused of safety test failings in council lawsuit
The company that made the fridge-freezer blamed for starting the Grenfell Tower fire has been accused in a lawsuit lodged by the local council of failing to run adequate safety tests on that model of appliance. The Royal Borough Kensington and Chelsea has brought a lawsuit against Hotpoint-maker Beko Europe, previously Whirlpool, as part of wider legal action against companies it believes are culpable for the fire eight years ago that killed more than 70 people. RBKC, which has brought the suit alongside the borough's Tenant Management Organisation, was heavily criticised for its handling of the fire and subsequent response in a public inquiry into the tragedy. The local authority is suing a range of companies at the high court for more than £358m, including those involved with the refurbishment and cladding as well as the maker of the Hotpoint fridge-freezer where the public inquiry concluded the blaze started. In a legal filing, the borough said that the appliance contained materials that could 'catch fire and burn easily', according to the Financial Times, which first reported the council's allegations against the appliance maker. Lawyers representing the claimants argue that the company did not adequately test the materials used in the model against applicable fire standards. The lawyers claim that if the materials – especially plastic backing, foam and polystyrene – had been tested they would have failed under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. It 'should have been obvious to any reasonably competent designer, manufacturer and/or supplier of the fridge-freezer that the plastic backing was not resistant to ignition and/or the spread of fire', the legal claim states. Defence documents have not yet been filed with the court, but Whirlpool said that it was 'vigorously defending' the legal action. 'Whirpool Corporation disputes and is vigorously defending the proceedings brought by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,' the company said. 'It would not be appropriate to comment further on ongoing litigation.' Turkey-based Arçelik and New York-listed Whirlpool struck a deal last year to combine their European domestic appliance businesses under Beko Europe. At the public inquiry, Whirlpool claimed that the fire could have been started by a lit cigarette rather than an electrical fault. However, inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick dismissed this assertion as 'fanciful', saying that the evidence left him in 'no doubt that the fire originated in the large fridge-freezer'. While RBKC is pursuing a number of actions at the high court it also faced strong criticism at the inquiry. Quentin Marshall, chair of the borough's housing scrutiny committee with oversight of Grenfell Tower, told the inquiry that the council 'lacked a little humanity' in its dealings with residents before the 2017 fire. His admission came after it emerged that he had personally dismissed residents' complaints about refurbishment works as 'grossly exaggerated'. The council has said it has made significant changes to its operations since 2017. A spokesperson for the council said: 'We have issued legal proceedings against a number of companies, in line with the council's ongoing commitment to ensure those parties pay a share of the costs incurred against the public purse.'
BBC News
19-03-2025
- BBC News
Notting Hill Carnival stand's licence reviewed after assault
Police have called for a Notting Hill Carnival stand to be shut down after a party-goer had a glass bottle smashed over his head, documents state. The serious assault, which is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, left the victim with "deep lacerations" across his neck, head, legs and right said the incident took place "within the footprint" of Volcano Sound System's setup on Faraday Road, west London, on the last day of the carnival in 2024 and has called for the stand's licence to be White, who runs the sound system's site, said none of his staff were involved in the incident. Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC) will review the licence on Thursday. According to documents shared with RBKC the incident took place when a drunken party-goer was refused entry to a VIP area by staff, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was claimed that while the man was being removed from the area, he was assaulted by two people who hit him over the head with a glass bottle.A statement from the Met said: "Following the two assaults, there appears to have been no attempt by [Mr White] or any member of staff or security to notify the police or ambulance service/St John's Ambulance of the incident or injured victim." The document went on to say the police were called by a member of the public but when they arrived, neither Mr White nor his security or staff approached to explain what happened. Mr White was later interviewed under caution by investigating claimed the victim was thrown to the floor by someone who purchased a Volcano T-shirt prior to the carnival, and said no staff were involved in the incident. 'No confidence' The Met said Mr White's handling of the incident was "completely unacceptable" and he or his staff should have called police or ambulance crews. Mr White was accused of breaching 13 conditions of his licence, including failure to train staff in the lead up to carnival."The police have no confidence that Mr White is able to run a safe sound system going forward," the force said. Mr White said it was "unfortunate" the Met had requested a licence review after what he described as a decade of "safely delivering a sound system experience to thousands of carnival goers".He pledged to train staff and volunteers "via a reputable training provider", increase the number of welfare stewards and stop selling Volcano-branded said: "Whilst I can accept that the unfortunate incident was not managed well, after reflection and learning I believe that I have the ability to ensure I meet all licensing conditions as well as ensure additional plans are in place in the event of an incident or emergency."
BBC News
24-02-2025
- BBC News
Grenfell Tower contractor to challenge council ban in court
A contractor involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower before the 2017 fire is mounting a legal challenge to a ban by Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC).It comes after RBKC extended a ban in November on contractors involved in the tower's refurbishment including Kingspan, Celotex, Arconic and Rydon - with more companies, including Siderise Insulation, added said the council's decision was "without foundation or justification" because its products do not meet the council's own criteria for the a spokesperson for RBKC said the council stood by its decision. Emma O'Connor, who escaped in a lift from the 20th floor with her partner during the fire, said she was shocked to hear of Siderise Insulation's legal challenge."My first thoughts were 'they can't be serious'. We didn't ask for our lives to be disrupted by this fire. It's complete and utter disbelief," she told the Local Democracy Reporting manufactured some of the cavity barriers used in the tower's 2015-16 the company launched judicial review proceedings against the council on Tuesday, arguing the ban on its products was "unwarranted" because they did not meet the council's own criteria for the ban. A Siderise spokesperson said: "While Siderise products were used in the Grenfell refurbishment, the Grenfell Inquiry report is clear that neither Siderise nor its products contributed to the tragic fire or its spread, and there is no suggestion that Siderise was not candid before the inquiry, and therefore this exclusion is unwarranted."The RBKC decision is therefore without foundation or justification. "Siderise is acting to protect its reputation as a British manufacturer which supplies its products globally." The Grenfell Inquiry's Phase 2 report found no evidence of Siderise acting dishonestly on its part but said some aspects of the company's marketing materials "gave cause for concern".It also found Siderise had supplied cavity barriers for use in voids larger than those for which they had been tested. The firm manufactured the Lamatherm cavity barriers used in the the spokesperson for Siderise said its products were and still are fit for purpose and that criticism of Siderise's marketing literature is not that it stated something incorrectly, but that it did not state further information that would have been helpful so was December, the government also started plans to ban firms involved in the Grenfell Tower fire from public housing minister Alex Norris said at the time the Prime Minister had written to 49 firms, adding it was "the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts". Siderise said it had not received a letter from the government and did not expect to be part of any restriction in the government's forthcoming announcements on the matter.
