The chair of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, has been accused of failing to command the respect of survivors and residents, who asked him to take more time to draw up the terms of reference when he met them on Thursday.

One person present said the retired judge “lost the room” at the almost three-hour meeting in a north Kensington community centre. Joe Delaney, of the Grenfell Action Group, said Moore-Bick “wasn’t jeered or booed. It was more scepticism. You could hear people sighing and tutting”.



“It got a bit loud before the end. The man couldn’t even control the crowd and hold them. I have heard public speakers who can shut up a stadium full of thousands of people. This man couldn’t hold a room with 200 or so people,” Delaney told BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday morning.

Though the former appeal court judge was heckled, he left saying that the exercise had been “very useful”. Much of the heated debate revolved around problems of parliamentary timetables and anger that MPs’ holidays should apparently dictate the pace of the inquiry.

Moore-Bick had told the meeting he was eager to resolve the terms of reference for the inquiry as soon as possible so he could start taking evidence. For that to happen, parliament must receive notice before the summer recess on 20 July.

“I can’t do more than assure you that I know what it is to be impartial,” Moore-Bick told the meeting.

“I’ve been a judge for 20 years, and I give you my word that I will look into this matter to the very best of my ability and find the facts as I see them from the evidence.



“That’s my job, that’s my training, and that’s what I intend to do. Now if I can’t satisfy you because you have some preconception about me as a person that’s up to you.”

Andrea Newton, the vice-chair of Lancaster West residents association, said afterwards: “We are calling on Theresa May to allow three further weeks for residents to make submissions on the terms of reference.

“We are not in a position to go on holiday. We are still grieving and need time to organise.” She said Moore-Bick had listened to residents. “I don’t care which judge presides over the inquiry but they need to give us longer to [make submissions in the terms of reference].”

A civil servant who was with the judge described the meeting as “lively”. There was no mass demand for the former judge to stand down.

The session, which began at 7pm, was held in Latymer community church in the shadow of the burnt-out shell of Grenfell Tower. The building’s windows and walls were still plastered with notices seeking information about missing victims of the inferno. It was organised by Lancaster West residents association and open to residents of the surrounding estates whose identities were checked at the door.

Arriving just before 7pm, Moore-Bick said: “I’m here at the invitation of Lancaster West residents association and they are waiting to see me.”

A couple of residents who emerged before the end of the meeting said they had given the judge a “run for his money”. One added: “He’s not giving any answers but I suppose he can’t do that yet.”

Melvyn Akins. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

Melvyn Akins, 34, said residents felt frustrated, angry and confused. “It was always going to be an uphill struggle [for the chair of the inquiry],” he said. “People feel abandoned.

“He was saying he was going to look into things but the residents have many immediate needs. People believe arrests should be made and if there aren’t arrests then justice won’t have been done.”

Someone who suggested that the inquiry should look at the general issue of social housing was told by Moore-Bick it would be too broad a subject for his inquiry.

Dr Lauriane Thorner, a resident, said there had been some positive developments. “They said they wanted us to give what evidence we have and the questions we [need answered].”

Jacqui Haynes. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

Not everyone was reassured at the end of the evening. Jacqui Haynes, a resident, said: “What a load of crap. We don’t want the [judge] who was handpicked by Theresa May.”

Support groups have called on the government to ensure relatives are provided with legal advice and representation.

Daniel Machover, the chair of Inquest, which supports the bereaved in coroner’s courts, said: “Bereaved families, survivors and local residents affected by the fire [need] secure expert legal representation to enable their full participation in this process.

“Otherwise, families will immediately start at a disadvantage compared to the well-resourced public bodies and corporations with an interest in narrowing the inquiry.”

