Grenfell Inquiry: Survivor explains why witnesses are still hesitant to come forward
26 February 2020, 20:38
After the attorney general's announcement of witness immunity during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, this Grenfell survivor explains to Eddie Mair why witnesses are still hesitant to come forward.
The attorney general has guaranteed anything said by witnesses to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry won't be used to prosecute them.
This is after witnesses have threatened to stay silent for fear of incriminating themselves without this guarantee.
Vice-chair of campaign group Grenfell United said the delay in this confirmation "was done purposefully to delay the inquiry."
He expressed that no one knows how far this granted immunity extends as the police could find "other ways" to prosecute witnesses.
"We should have never been put in the situation where we were choosing between truth and justice.
Truth is important and more important for the general public because we want the government to shut up this public inquiry, to make recommendations so that people are safe in their homes and these materials are brought down and this can never happen again.
"But at the same time accountability matters so much to the families who lost, like myself, we want accountability, we want prosecution, we want people to be held responsible for the loss of our lives.
"The inquiry starts again on Monday with witnesses coming up and I'm hoping now with this undertaking we're not going to be hearing a load of 'no-comment' or 'I don't recall' because nobody wants 18 months of that.
"We need the truth, we need to hear these people take the stand and take responsibility for their actions if there was any wrong doing and potentially they could save people's lives in the future."
