News   /   Society

Grenfell Tower disaster: Survivors call on London Borough to admit ‘liability’

The legal cases surrounding the Grenfell Tower fire disaster are not only increasing but are becoming more and more complex as well

In the latest development in the Grenfell Tower saga, dozens of survivors have called on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to finally admit its “liability” for the disaster.

The survivors – who number 88 in total and are comprised of survivors or people bereaved in the disaster – have issued nearly 1,000 legal claims against the RBKC and its Tenant Management Organization (TMO).  

For its part, the RBKC has requested the High Court to pause the action indefinitely, but the judge has only agreed to delay the proceedings for nine months.

The Grenfell Tower block fire disaster on June 14, 2017, which claimed 72 lives, counts as the worst residential fire in the UK since the Second World War.

In a parallel class legal action, some 140 firefighters and police officers have pressed their claims against both the RKCB and the TMO, in addition to the London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police and the eight companies involved in the tower’s faulty refurbishment.

The parallel legal action by firefighters and police officers combined with the survivors’ class action means that there are around 1,130 legal claims altogether.

The RBKC and TMO’s chief legal representative, Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC, told the judge that a pause in litigation would all allow the parties to “pursue alternative forms of dispute resolution” with a view to avoiding the “additional trauma, delay and cost that will be inherent” in a trial.

But the chief legal representative of the victims, Susan Rodway QC, hit back by accusing the RBKC and the TMO of “seeking to avoid justice”.

For her part, Judge Barbara Fontaine, said she would give the reasons for her decision to delay the court case for nine months at a later date.

 


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku