Inquiry team

Counsel to the Inquiry 

Richard Millett KC has been appointed as Lead Counsel to the Inquiry. Richard was called to the Bar in 1985 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003. He has extensive experience of handling complex commercial disputes in a range of specialist areas, with an emphasis on advocacy in court, arbitration and other tribunals. He also sits as a Deputy High Court Judge.

Richard is supported by Kate Grange KC and Andrew Kinnier KC.

Kate Grange KC was called to the Bar in 1998 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2017. She has particular expertise in relation to commercial, construction, public and inquiry law.

Andrew Kinnier KC was called to the Bar in 1996 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2018. He has particular expertise in product liability law, public procurement, public and administrative law, local government law, health and safety law and environmental law.

Junior Counsel

Naima Asif
Samantha Bonner
Aphra Bruce-Jones
Samuel Burrett
Joseph Byrne
Kate Chidgey
Hannah Curtain
Helena Drage
George Eyre
Kate Fortescue
Adam Gadd
Rose Grogan
Emma Hynes
Zeenat Islam
Samantha Jones
Dermot Keating
Daniel Laking
Kirsty Lea
Natasha Lloyd Owen
Priya Malhotra
Scarlett Milligan
Ricky Powell
Bilal Rawat
Sarah Read
Timothy Salisbury
Vida Simpeh
Shanthi Sivakumaran
Michael Standing
Rachel Sullivan
Camilla Ter Haar
Rachel Troup
Alex Ustych

The Inquiry is also supported by a document review team comprising junior barristers and paralegals.

Secretary to the Inquiry

Matt Lewsey started work as Secretary to the Inquiry on 21 November 2022. He was previously Head of Inquiries and Reviews at the Cabinet Office, where he has led on work to establish the UK Inquiry into Covid-19. Matt has extensive experience of working on both inquiries and reviews, having served as Secretary to the Hillsborough Independent Panel and Secretary to the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel.

Nicole Kett served as Director General and Secretary to the Inquiry from June 2022 - August 2022. 

Mark Fisher served as Director General and Secretary to the Inquiry from June 2017 - June 2022.

Solicitor to the Inquiry

Caroline Featherstone qualified as a registered nurse in 1986. She worked in the NHS until she changed career in 1998 when she was admitted as a solicitor. Having spent some years working in private practice, Caroline joined the Government Legal Department in 2006 and was most recently a Deputy Director leading a large litigation team.

Deputy Solicitors

Cathy Kennedy
Julia Dickins
Ross Howarth

Team 

Thomas Blackburn

Laura Brooks

Nav Chauhan

Paul Edens

Kathy Knox

Matt Lewsey - Inquiry Secretary 

Christine May

Curtis Moise

Kana Natarajan

Justine Rainbow

Mike Thomas

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is committed to promoting equality and diversity.

The Inquiry has conducted a survey collecting data on the gender and ethnic diversity of the Inquiry team, including the Inquiry Panel, Counsel and legal and secretariat teams. The available data on the Inquiry team as of 31 December 2022 is shown below.

Our skilled team is diverse at every level, with two thirds of the Inquiry panel being from BAME background. We will continue to monitor the diversity of our workforce and will publish a snapshot annually for the remainder of the Inquiry.