The final report from the Grenfell Tower inquiry is 3 weeks away.
In a new series we're going to set out what it's learnt - what created the conditions for a fire both foreseeable and preventable.
Grenfell: Building a Disaster, Radio 4 from Monday 19th https://t.co/NsCbEbGUEq
Want to know how HS2 ended up in this mess? Why we struggle to build a better Britain?
You can listen to Derailed, which I made for Radio 4 last year... https://t.co/RkBpzbcwas
All ten episodes of my latest series RINSED are now available on @BBCSounds! It’s in depth look at sewage and the water industry - how a centuries old battle has created an almighty stink… and who pays to clean it up? https://t.co/asjsYRC30L
The third part of my (unintentional) infrastructure trilogy is out at 1:45pm today on @BBCRadio4 and @BBCSounds. Rinsed takes a closer look at the water industry and what can be done about sewage in our rivers.
https://t.co/uD9q25xWqP
Produced by @Lscottttt
There’s only a couple of Derailed episodes left to go on Radio 4 - today at 1.45 is the story of the cancellations.
If you’ve missed it, the whole series is available here:
https://t.co/mvmVUorwNn
I’ve been in Madagascar so have missed lots of your lovely comments about Derailed.
The Telegraph called it “painfully brilliant” adding “it’s not often one wishes for communism”
The series continues on Radio 4 at 1.45 or you can hear it all here:
https://t.co/RkBpzbcwas
My latest series Derailed: the story of HS2 is on Radio 4 from 1.45 daily this week and next.
Or you can listen to it all now here…
https://t.co/RkBpzbcwas
I’ve got a new 10 part series out next week on Radio 4 all about HS2 - made with @WhistledownProd You can listen here from the 14th
https://t.co/jH9VlPeZZD
I'm really proud of @joemyerscough for making this fascinating but most importantly deeply human programme. Do watch if you have a chance.
https://t.co/rtRAZ1EWVs
Well this is weird… with thanks to @JoCasserly@PennyMurphy, James Beard @jntstaples and of course everyone who spoke to us over the many years of the public inquiry
Your #UKARIAS winners for Best Factual Series Award:
🥇 Grenfell: Building a Disaster – @bbcradio4
🥈 County Lines – @FallingTreeProd for @bbcradio4
🥉 The Trapped – @ITN / @ITVNews
Can we trust US polling this election? And with Harris given only a 53% chance of winning the Presidency has her campaign blown it?
With @katiestallard@MeganJGibson@BNHWalker & @pollcat
https://t.co/HELGH23hyJ
"Would we accept this situation in any other aspect of care? Can you imagine someone saying, you can't have your dialysis because not enough bric-a-brac has been donated?"
This week we ask if palliative care is ready for the debate about assisted dying
https://t.co/VNgMRwgUQd
"We invest or we decline"
& on today's pod Rachel Reeves talks to Andrew Marr about who will bear the burden in the upcoming budget
https://t.co/YrUXfB1FFZ
"Oh, I think there's a huge streak of misogyny. I don't say that lightly"
On this week's @NewStatesman politics podcast, Nicola Sturgeon on Boris Johnson 'Unleashed'
https://t.co/qFdLkzFYHB
“I don't do a life threatening job, or at least I didn't think I did”
We talk to election officials about harassment ahead of the US Presidential election & the legal challenges which could affect voting
With @JillFilipovic@katiestallard@dbrancati00
https://t.co/l7vEbbOJX2
I’m working with the New Statesman for a few months across their audio and digital output
Here’s one thing we’re trying out, Insight, a weekly show where we focus on one big issue. Have a listen below…
https://t.co/4tTxkWsibV
While the report does make that conclusion specifically for the 'Red Tape Challenge' in 2011 - it is not true of the wider deregulatory agenda including the 'one in, one out' policy from the same year.
See what it says in Vol 1 pg 156-160 of the report...
Below, @David_Cameron states the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was clear "fire safety and building safety regulations were explicitly excluded from the Coalition Government’s greatly-needed ‘red tape reviews’"
That statement is not entirely supported by the report.
The bereaved families of the horrific Grenfell tragedy have this week received some of the answers they have been searching for after what must have been the longest, most agonising seven years. As someone who lives near Grenfell, my heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones on that terrible night; the survivors; and those who have suffered as a result of the events on 14 June 2017.
The finding that the deaths of all 72 victims were avoidable is chilling and highlights the scale and breadth of failure over three decades and more.
While there is nothing that can bring adequate comfort to the victims’ families, the survivors and the local community who have lost so much and suffered greatly, I hope that Sir Martin Moore-Bick's comprehensive and forensic final report answers their questions about what led to this unparalleled tragedy.
It is clear that there are many lessons to learn from the Inquiry’s findings – lessons for national and local government; for the construction industry and corporate sectors; for regulators; and for our public services.
All of us who have served in positions of power over the past few decades need to acknowledge that mistakes were made over too many years; community concerns were too readily sidelined or dismissed; voices too often unheard; and more could have been done to learn lessons from past tragedies.
The report is clear that fire safety and building safety regulations were explicitly excluded from the Coalition Government’s greatly-needed ‘red tape reviews’, given the importance we placed on safety and build quality. Indeed, the Coalition and post-2015 governments took steps to increase fire safety regulation. However, it is important that this and future governments take note of this week’s findings to ensure that essential protections can never be brushed aside, minimised or dismissed.
I associate myself fully with the powerful statements delivered in the House of Commons this week by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition; and I echo their unreserved apology. To the bereaved families; to the survivors; to the community; and all who have suffered: the British state let you down; it should not have happened; it must not happen again.
It now falls on the new government to implement the recommendations contained in the Inquiry report. But all of us in public life owe it to the families of the Grenfell victims, the survivors, the campaigners, and all in society, to demonstrate that we have learnt the lessons from this heart-breaking catastrophe, and will work to ensure that a tragedy like this can never, ever be repeated.
Episode 204 - the final episode of The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast is out now
We talk to @PeteApps, expert witness Beryl Menzies and @HRRBFireSafety about the findings
& hear from bereaved and survivors - including how they met Keir Starmer this week
https://t.co/AKjSxYqq4D
Today is my last day at the BBC. To be totally open, I’m being made redundant
Whether running More Or Less during the pandemic, reporting on Grenfell & the climate, I’m extraordinarily proud of my work
Public service broadcasting can be engaging & essential & I hope to continue