Did Grenfell Tower negligence breach the human rights of residents?

One year on from the catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire, the British Safety Council has welcomed a challenge to the UK government asserting that the failure to address the risk to life posed by flammable external cladding was a breach of human rights.

In an incendiary letter addressing the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) expressed significant concern over the continued use of ‘Grenfell like’ combustible cladding in existing buildings and reminded the department of its responsibility under human rights laws to protect lives.

According to the commission, consultation on the use of external cladding omits any reference to the government’s duty to protect lives under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998.

“The British Safety Council has participated in the consultation, calling for much tighter building controls, clearer guidance and effective enforcement,” said Lawrence Waterman, Chairman of the British Safety Council. “The EHRC intervention takes a wider view and supports our long-held and consistent argument that health and safety is a crucial underpinning of the human right to life.”

Waterman continued: “The British Safety Council vision of no-one being injured or made ill by their work will only be realised when everyone cooperates to defend this basic human right for all. We call on the government to take a much clearer lead and responsibility for past failures to protect life so tragically highlighted by the Grenfell Tower fire.”

More information about the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s case can be found on the organisation’s website.

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