Grenfell Tower inquiry 'will consider residents' fire safety warnings'
The judge leading the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is prepared to consider the "broad" causes of the fire, after survivors suggested they were prepared to abandon the investigation unless its parameters were widened.
The decision by Sir Martin Moore-Bick comes after survivors' group expressed concerns over its scope and leadership.
The 70-year-old had previously said his investigation would be limited to the cause of the fire, why it spread so quickly and how it could be prevented in the future.
However, survivors said that unless the inquiry also covered systemic issues, such as why residents' concerns about fire safety were allegedly ignored, they were prepared to abandon the process.
A source said the former Court of Appeal judge was looking to scrutinise issues tracing back to building regulations at the time the block was erected.
"He is very happy to look at why there were warnings that weren't listened to, these were the allegations," the source said.
It is understood the inquiry into the blaze, which killed at least 80 people, will be a "broad interpretation of what caused the fire", which extends beyond the "physics of what happened".
Sir Martin's appointment has been met met with concern by survivors, over issues such as his 2014 decision to allowed a London council to rehouse a tenant 50 miles away in Bletchley, near Milton Keynes.
A group called BME (black and minority ethnic) Lawyers 4 Grenfell has written to Prime Minister Theresa May to say her choice was "astonishing".
The open letter, signed by the chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers Peter Herbert and the president of the Association of Muslim Lawyers Ismet Rawat, said: "Your lack of consultation has increased the mistrust of both the Grenfell community and the wider community and led to firm opposition of the appointment of Sir Martin Moore-Bick."
And Sue Caro, a co-ordinator for the Justice 4 Grenfell group that represents survivors, said: "Our view is the whole thing needs to start again - there is no confidence in the process."
Sir Martin's decision comes after 181 high-rise buildings across 51 local authorities have now failed fire safety tests on their cladding.
Not a single sample has so far passed the urgent tests being carried out on high-rise residential blocks following the blaze.