Cladding firm executive will give evidence to Grenfell Inquiry after pressure to ‘step up’

The charred shell of Grenfell Tower today after the fire was put out
Jeremy Selwyn

A key witness on flammable cladding on Grenfell Tower has ended doubt over his appearance at the public inquiry by agreeing to give evidence.  

Claude Schmidt, a France-based executive at multinational cladding manufacturer Arconic, was among four people who had previous resisted requests to attend the inquiry.  

The impasse was caused by a seldom-used French law which prevents disclosure of commercial information to foreign proceedings.  

Mr Schmidt and three ex-Arconic employees who also live in France have come under growing pressure to “step up to the plate” and give evidence to the inquiry.  

A spokesperson for the inquiry today confirmed: “Claude Schmidt has now agreed to attend to give oral evidence to the inquiry.”

The fate of the three other proposed witnesses is not yet known.  

The inquiry into the Grenfell disaster is currently paused due to the pandemic, but virtual hearings are expected to restart from February 8.  

The inquiry is now in its second phase, looking at the refurbishment of the tower block prior to the fire when an unsafe cladding system was installed and fire safety measures ignored.   

Arconic manufactured the polyethylene-filled aluminium composite panels, with the material’s flammability identified as a part of the reason behind the rapid spread of the fire in 2017 when 72 lives were lost.  

Counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett QC had previous questioned whether any of the French-based witnesses would face prosecution for seeking to help the Grenfell inquiry.  

“It is hard to think that a French prosecutor would punish those individuals for giving evidence before a public inquiry… looking into a notorious fire in which so many were killed”, he said.

Building safety minister Stephen Greenhalgh called on the witnesses to “step up to the plate” rather than “hide behind” the obscure law, while Grenfell campaigners drove an electronic billboard to the French embassy in Knightsbridge, London, urging the French government to tell the witnesses to give evidence.

Bereaved and survivors campaign group Grenfell United said in a statement: “We continue to call for ALL Arconic witnesses to attend.

“72 people lost their lives and they are forever in our hearts. The truth must come out.”

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