An engineer appointed by Boris Johnson to oversee the Grenfell Tower inquiry has links to the company that made the building’s cladding.
Benita Mehra was selected last month to work alongside Martin Moore-Bick, who is helming the inquiry into the June 2017 fire in the west London tower block that killed 72 people.
It has emerged that she previously ran an organisation funded – to the tune of £71,000 – by a grant from Arconic, the American firm that made the cladding panels held responsible for the fire. Mehra helped draft the application and the funds arrived three months after the Grenfell disaster.
Survivors’ group Grenfell United has called the appointment “completely outrageous” and a “clear conflict of interest”.
The second part of the inquiry, due to start this month, will cover issues such as refurbishment, building regulations and the response of central and local government.
