Human rights watchdog warns UK government in breach of human rights over Grenfell cladding

The UK government is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to address the problems that led to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, a human rights watchdog has warned.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCLG), detailing its concerns about the continued use of combustible cladding.

In June the department launched a consultation into the use of cladding, which is thought to have been a key factor in the disaster which claimed 72 lives last June.

The EHRC said it was concerned that the consultation fails to reference the government’s duties under ECHR article 2 and schedule one to the Human Rights Act 1998.

“This paramount duty requires the state to take appropriate steps within its power to effectively protect the lives of individuals and groups in situations where there is a known real risk to life, or where the authorities ought to have known that,” the commission said in its consultation response, seen by The Observer.

The response continues: “Unfortunately, over a year after the catastrophic loss of more than 70 residents’ lives, many of the very systemic failings that led to the Grenfell Tower fire still exist now, giving rise, in our view, to an ongoing violation of article 2 ECHR/HRA by the state.”