BRE manager did not tell minister that ACM had failed fire test 16 years before Grenfell

By Tom Lowe2022-02-25T11:09:00

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Debbie Smith denied reaching agreement with senior official to withhold key details about cladding from minister in meeting three days after fire, inquiry hears

The former managing director of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has denied reaching an agreement with a senior government official to withhold key details about the cladding on Grenfell tower in the days after the fire.

Debbie Smith told Wednesday’s hearing of the Grenfell Inquiry that it “didn’t occur at the time” to mention that the ACM panels used on the tower had catastrophically failed a BRE fire test 16 years previously.

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