Tuesday, the 14th of December marked 4 and a half years since 72 members of our community lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.
The Grenfell Silent Walk was held with bereaved, survivors and residents walking together in memory of our 72.
Earlier that day, Grenfell community campaigners paid a visit to the Celotex factory in Ipswich:
The local residents marked the four and a half years anniversary by blocking the entrances and exits to stop deliveries of Celotex lethal insulation. When a few Celotex employees expressed annoyance or frustration at the protest, the residents pointed out to them that the Chief Executive of Saint Gobain (which Celotex is a subsidiary of), together with the Chief Executives of Kingspan, Arconic and Rydon have disgracefully received over ÂŁ50million in bonuses since the atrocity.
Chants were heard, including “Celotex makes insulation but the end result is death by suffocation” and another, a play on a Tweet from Kensington former Labour MP and present Golborne Councillor Emma Dent Coad: “Celotex you lied and 72 people died, from your cyanide”.
The East Anglian Daily Times – reported on the protest Grenfell campaigners hold “disruptive” protest outside Hadleigh factory” , so we’ll just briefly explain to people unfamliar with the issue and our community, what “disruptive” really is. The disruption caused by the loss of 72 innocent men, women and children of our community in a needless, entirely preventable man-made disaster, in which the flammable insulation which Celotex had knowingly missold, and had falsified the safety test of – played a part and the troubling fact that nobody has been brought to justice over this.
We thank the protesters for their good work and for giving everyone a timely reminder, and that timely reminder is that these firms and people responsible are still in business, still walking free.while our community suffers, hoping and praying for justice for the 72.
Talking of timely reminders , it’s time for us to go back to the Grenfell Inquiry and our blog post from last year “Celotex and the fatal hard sell” regarding the company falsifying and manipulating safety tests of the flammable insultation and then misselling it :
And here is an extract of what was reported in The Guardian by Robert Booth in November last year :
“Executives who sold combustible insulation for use on Grenfell Tower perpetrated a “fraud on the market” by rigging a fire test and making “misleading” claims about it, a public inquiry has heard.”
“Celotex, a subsidiary of the French construction materials company Saint-Gobain, behaved in a “completely unethical” way, admitted Jonathan Roper, a former assistant product manager.”
“Roper worked on two fire tests of the foam panels and subsequent sales plans as the company tried to grab a slice of a ÂŁ10m-a-year insulation foam market.”
“In the Grenfell fire on 14 June 2017, the foam, known as RS5000, fuelled the flames and released toxic gases and smoke. The foam was withdrawn from the market nine days later.Grenfell Tower suppliers knew their cladding would burn, inquiry told“
“In evidence to Grenfell inquiry’s examination of the manufacture, testing and sale of the largely plastic materials, Roper said the firm had been “dishonest” by “over-engineering” a cladding fire safety test to achieve a pass.“
“A first test in February 2014 failed in 26 minutes, with flames engulfing the rig. But after changing some of the materials used around the insulation, including adding concealed fire-retardant panels, a second test three months later passed and was used to market the foam boards as safe for high-rise buildings.”
Still, Celotex and others go on with “business as usual” and would rather people forget about the fatal consequences of their actions four and a half years ago – we think it’s time something was done about that.
North Kensington will always remember, and we’re very grateful to the community campaigners protesting on Tuesday and to Grenfell United for calling for charges and keeping this in the media spotlight and ensuring that others are aware too.
By the way, if the likes of Kingspan, Arconic and Rydon had thought that we had let them off and that they had escaped the gaze of this blog and further coverage of their shady doings, we’ll just let them know that we have blogs on them coming very soon……
THINK stand with the Grenfell community campagners and Grenfell United. All of us are demanding that charges are brought now. . This atrocity should never have happened, the people and organisations responsible for loss of 72 innocent lives – Celotex and others have not been charged with anything and are walking free; this should not be happening. and we will all continue to make noise and call for justice. This is nothing less than corporate manslaughter.
THINK spoke to one of the Grenfell community campaigners who had protested in Ipswich and they had this to say to us:
“We went on a road trip to Hadleigh, Ipswich to remind one of the companies complicit in the deaths of 72 people, of whom 18 were children, that justice awaits them and the justice we seek is jail time.
Our main objective was to hit them in their pockets by preventing normal business for the day. They stole 72 lives, destroyed peoples homes and traumatised a whole community, so losing a days profit making was the least they deserved.
It’s time that all the corporates who lied and cheated the system, who put profit before people, who demonstrated utter contempt towards our residents and their safety, were reminded that just because they aren’t based in London, does’nt mean that we won’t come and give them hell from time to time.
Our dead weren’t safe at their hands, why should they sit back relaxing like nothing has happened? We say to them: “We will not be silent so that you can remain comfortable”
We will be planning future actions to the other main players complicit in the deaths of the 72 and would encourage as many who can to come along with us and support.
We are self supported in what we do, all of us chipping in to get each action achieved. We are a collective and determined to support GUs call for charges to be brought. The evidence has been laid bare to all via the Grenfell Inquiry, yet the guilty walk free.
4 and 1/2 yrs, 72 dead, no arrests, HOW COME?”
THINK fully support the above statement and we too call on all our readers to unite in support and join the call for justice, and here, with another timely reminder, are Grenfell United:
THis Is North Kensington 