A MINISTER in the housing department has stepped back from her responsibilities overseeing building safety and the government's actions related to the Grenfell Tower fire.
Rushanara Ali faced calls for her resignation from survivors of the tragedy after the Sunday Times revealed her participation in the Franco-British Colloque, a conference that gathers prominent politicians, civil servants, and business leaders.
For many years, this conference has been co-chaired by Pierre-André de Chalendar, who recently held the position of chairman at Saint-Gobain—the parent company of a firm that received significant criticism in the latest Grenfell inquiry.
While the MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney will remain a minister, she said that she was stepping down from her role in building safety, stressing that "perception matters." She will now focus on issues related to homelessness and rough sleeping.
According to reports, Grenfell United, a group representing survivors and families affected by the fire, issued a demand to Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, urging her to remove Ali from her position.
The Grenfell Tower fire, which engulfed the 23-storey social housing block in west London, killed 72 people. (Photo: Reuters)Ali had regularly participated in the Franco-British Colloque, attending the forum ten times since 2013 and received more than £9,140 in hospitality benefits.
Notably, six of these visits occurred after the Grenfell tragedy, which claimed 72 lives when a fire spread rapidly up the tower block on June 14, 2017.
The Grenfell Inquiry recently discovered that Celotex, the manufacturer of the insulation used in Grenfell Tower, had rigged a fire test in 2014, falsely clearing their flammable insulation for high-rise buildings. This test involved secretly installing fire-resistant boards to conceal the true danger of their product.
Celotex’s actions and the subsequent findings have sparked outrage among the victims’ families, who feel that Ali’s connections to such companies are inappropriate for someone in charge of building safety. Until recently, Celotex was predominantly owned by Saint-Gobain.
In a meeting with Grenfell United alongside Rayner, Ali was reportedly asked to cease her participation in the Colloque but refused, arguing the event was significant for fostering dialogue between businesses and politicians.
Following this meeting, Grenfell United issued Rayner an ultimatum, demanding that Ali be stripped of her responsibilities. They threatened to publicise their concerns if the government did not act swiftly.
Days after this ultimatum, Ali announced that she had voluntarily given up her role overseeing building safety.
“Trusted relationships between ministers and the Grenfell community are essential for this department. Before I became a minister, I called for the French delegation of the Franco-British Colloque to cut ties with Saint-Gobain. But I understand that perception matters and I have therefore concluded that the building safety portfolio would be best transferred to another minister," Ali said in a statement.
“Our goals of making buildings safe and preventing another tragedy continue to be very important issues for me, and the deputy prime minister and the rest of the ministerial team have my full support in delivering on this work.”
The Franco-British Colloque has also assured Ali's department that it has severed all ties with Saint-Gobain, following the backlash from the inquiry.
“Any Minister that went to events held or chaired by an organisation who had a hand in Grenfell should never have been put in charge of building safety. This is yet another example where government has failed to do their due diligence and the skeletons will continue to come out," a spokesperson for Grenfell United was quoted as saying.
