Kensington & Chelsea (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kensington and Chelsea Council has removed insulation firm Siderise from its banned contractors list, despite its involvement in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment.
Some of the cavity barriers used in the 2015–16 renovation of Grenfell Tower were produced by Siderise Insulation Ltd.
Following the prohibition of several other firms involved in the refurbishment, such as Rydon and Kingspan, in 2021, it was barred from working for the council at the end of last year. Eight years ago, the tower caught fire, resulting in the deaths of 72 people.
But Siderise has now been removed from the list and in an update this afternoon (Thursday), the council said:
“In response to the Grenfell Inquiry reports, we adopted a policy banning certain suppliers and other companies from being used in our building and refurbishment projects. This policy has been updated so that Siderise Insulation Limited is no longer listed as a banned supplier.”
Siderise was informed earlier this year that it might challenge the ban, and this hearing was scheduled for this month in the High Court. The council’s decision was previously deemed “without foundation or justification.”
In a statement, Siderise said:
“Following a judicial review process, Siderise is pleased to confirm that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has removed Siderise from a list of suppliers banned from being used on the council’s building and refurbishment projects.
This decision reflects the fact that Siderise, as supported by the findings of the Grenfell Inquiry report, in no way contributed to the fire or its spread. Siderise was appalled by the dreadful disaster and loss of life at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 and our sympathies continue to go out to the survivors and families of the bereaved.”
Why did Kensington and Chelsea council remove Siderise from the ban list initially?
Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC) initially banned Siderise from working on council projects because the company was named in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry reports. The council’s exclusion policy targeted firms where the Inquiry found dishonesty, incompetence, or misleading behavior that contributed to the Grenfell Tower fire or its spread
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry concluded that Siderise or its products did not contribute to the cause or spread of the fire. The Inquiry only found that Siderise’s datasheets could have been clearer about the nature of the product testing, but there was no evidence of dishonesty or product failure.
The Inquiry did not attribute blame to Siderise for incompetence, dishonesty, or a lack of candor, and there was no evidence of Siderise’s products being unsafe or the company acting in bad faith. The criticism was limited to the way Siderise described its test data, which was not regarded as having misled competent professionals.