NEWS


Inquiry loses panelist after furore Benita Mehra, who had only been appointed to the inquiry’s second phase in late 2019, was found to have links to Arconic – the US company that made the aluminium composite material (ACM) panels on Grenfell – and later resigned. The Guardian reported that Ms


Mehra was appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to replace Professor Nabeel Hamdi on the panel, with campaign group for the bereaved and survivors Grenfell United (GU) believing the move was ‘snuck out just before Christmas’. GU was ‘angered’ and disappointed that Professor Hamdi, an academic ‘with expertise in housing, design and planning’, was replaced by a chartered engineer, and claimed it had not been ‘given an explanation’. It undertook research into Ms Mehra and found that she had run the Women’s Engineering Society, which received a £71,000 grant from the charitable arm of Arconic – the Arconic Foundation – in September 2017. Arconic’s panels were


found by the inquiry to be ‘the principal reason why the flames spread so rapidly up the building’, and the grant was the ‘largest’ the society received in 2017. GU said this was a ‘clear conflict of interest’, with Ms Mehra’s appointment a ‘slap in the face’. It called for her to stand down before the second phase, as this would examine ‘how the Arconic cladding panels were chosen, their safety testing, marketing and promotion’. An inquiry spokesperson had


said it was ‘confident that Benita Mehra’s former presidency’ of the society ‘does not affect her impartiality as a panel member’. In turn, a Cabinet Office spokesperson said there were ‘robust processes’ to ensure ‘any potential conflicts of interest are properly considered and


managed’, adding that ‘the Arconic Foundation donated to a specific scheme which provides mentoring for women to the issues being considered by the inquiry’. Officials had ‘not identified


any concerns’ with Ms Mehra’s appointment, and she had ‘confirmed that she is not aware of any conflict of interest’, while Professor Hamdi had left after having ‘reflected on the commitment required’. An Arconic spokesperson said the foundation was ‘independently endowed and managed’ to ‘advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and training worldwide’, and create access to those fields for women internationally, with the 2017 grant given ‘purely on this basis’. Mr Johnson later told


survivors he would investigate Ms Mehra’s role, at a pre arranged Downing Street meeting. Mohamed Ragab, whose nephew Hesham Rahman died in the fire, noted that Mr Johnson ‘said he had no idea about this woman dealing with this company’, and ‘would have to investigate and find out what is going on’. An anonymous attendee commented that Mr Johnson ‘didn’t seem to know who she is’, and promised that ‘this would be definitely be investigated’, as well as that ‘anything that causes us discomfort should not be allowed to happen’. Downing Street declined to


directly comment on what was said, but released a statement: ‘The prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to getting to the truth of what happened, learn lessons and deliver justice for victims. During the meeting, they reflected on the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Inquiry, and looked ahead to the next stage.’ A few days later, Mr Mehra


resigned over the connections to Arconic ‘less than 48 hours before’ the inquiry resumed


and Mr Johnson announced that he had accepted her resignation.


He added that ‘as the


inquiry’s phase two hearings begin, we remain completely committed to getting to the truth of what happened, learning lessons and delivering justice for the victims’, while Ms Mehra’s resignation letter to him stated that she had made ‘a regrettable oversight’ and was resigning ‘with deepest regret’. She added it was apparent that the link to Arconic ‘has caused serious concerns to a number of the bereaved, survivors and resident core participants’. However, she stressed she


had ‘never spoken to anyone’ at Arconic and that her only role had been to review the initial proposal. Mr Johnson’s private secretary Emily Beynon accepted the resignation, but said that the Cabinet Office ‘having made further inquiries into your case, have said that they continue to believe that there is no conflict of interest that would have prevented you from taking part in the Inquiry’. GU said she had done ‘the


dignified thing by resigning’, and that it ‘helps lift growing anxiety ahead of phase two’, but added: ‘The government should never have put families in this situation, they failed to carry out basic checks and understand the importance and sensitivities around a fair and proper process. We still have questions for both the inquiry team and Cabinet Office to answer, as to how this situation was ever allowed to happen. ‘The government promised


two panel members and must now urgently find a new panellist, to bring expertise on community relations to the inquiry. We do not need the pretence of diversity for the sakes of diversity. The panel does not need another technical expert where we already have ample provision.’


www.frmjournal.com MARCH 2020 11


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