Inquiry Hearings

The Inquiry has previously shared a provisional programme for the first phase of the hearings, which will be held at Holborn Bars, 138-142 Holborn, London, EC1N 2SW.

Timings

Opening statements will start on Monday 4 June and run from 10.00-16:30. There will be a security check so we recommend arriving in sufficient time.

There will be a break of one hour for lunch and a short break in the morning and afternoon.

As a general rule, the Inquiry will sit Monday to Thursday each week.  It may be that in some exceptional circumstances the Inquiry will be required to sit earlier or later, have longer breaks or sit some or all of a Friday.

Expert Reports

The Inquiry’s preliminary Phase 1 expert reports will be made available on the Inquiry’s website when they are adduced into evidence.

On Monday 4 June the Inquiry is planning to make available the reports of:

• Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid as to the cause and spread of the fire in the flat of origin and the spread of fire within and out of that compartment.
• Prof. Luke Bisby as to the ignition of the façade materials (including the cladding and insulation) and the fire spread over the building’s external façade.
• Dr. Barbara Lane as to the fire protection measures within the building and preliminary conclusions on the extent to which they failed to control the spread of fire and smoke and contributed to the speed at which the fire spread.
• Prof. Jose Torero as to the fire spread throughout the building.
• Colin Todd as to the different statutory and regulatory requirements in force over the lifetime of Grenfell Tower.

The exhibits to the reports will be adduced and published at a later date.

If necessary, the experts will serve supplemental reports in advance of their oral evidence, to the extent that the evidence they have heard or read affects their written opinions.  They may also provide updating evidence when they come to give oral evidence in October and the reports will be treated as provisional until that point.

More information on the approach to sharing evidence is available on the Inquiry website.

Filming restriction

Attendees, including the press, are not permitted to make recordings or take photographs inside the venue.  If there are any concerns during the hearing these can be raised in confidence at the press desk or with the ushers.

Security  

The hearings are open to the public and there will be security checks and a bag scan on entry.  We encourage those attending to arrive in plenty of time and to think carefully about what you bring with you on the day. The following items will not be permitted inside the venue:

• any type of knife or bladed article – for example pen knives, key-ring knives, belt knives, craft knives or cutlery;
• ‘sharps’ – for example, scissors, syringes (unless these are for medical purposes), craft needles;
• replica guns – for example lighters or jewellery that looks like a gun or toy gun;
• all photographic, audio and video recording equipment, whether digital or analogue, with the exception of mobile phones (which should be switched to silent in the hearing room);
• work tools – for example hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, nails; alcohol, non-prescription drugs, solvents and other potentially harmful substances;
• any other item which, in the opinion of the security officer, could be used as a weapon, cause a hazard to others in the building or be used to disrupt proceedings.

The venue

Within the hearing room, public seating will be prioritised for the bereaved, survivors and resident core participants. Other attendees and members of the press will be seated in an annex of Holborn Bars where the proceedings will be streamed.

On the same floor as the hearing room and the annex there will be separate breakout areas for the bereaved, survivors and residents and prayer and counselling rooms.

The venue will be clearly signposted and there will be ushers and Inquiry team members on site who will be able to assist and can direct you or answer questions you might have.

Schedule

A detailed schedule for the following week will be published each Friday on the Inquiry’s website and Twitter page.

Participants and bereaved families

Attendees are free to take breaks from the proceedings and time away from the hearing room.  The NHS and Hestia will be available on site to provide outreach and counselling services. You are also welcome to bring your own counselling support.

Watching the hearing

Hearings will be live streamed to the Notting Hill Methodist Church and also available to watch through the Inquiry’s website.