Executives responsible for unsafe Grenfell Tower cladding banked over £100million since deadly fire
EXECUTIVES at companies responsible for unsafe Grenfell Tower cladding have banked more than £100million since the fire claimed 72 lives.
One has bought a seafront mansion and another drives a Bond-themed Aston Martin.
The Grenfell Inquiry blamed council officials for failing to scrutinise the firms’ dodgy design and material choices, or ensure a £10million revamp complied with building regs.
Kensington and Chelsea Council’s then leader, Tory Nicholas Paget-Brown, has been succeeded by Elizabeth Campbell, who yesterday apologised “unreservedly”.
The inquiry found French firm Arconic “deliberately concealed” dangers posed by its products which “acted as a source of fuel” for the fire.
Its ex-boss, Tim Myers, has been paid £23.9million and cashed in £22.3million of shares since the tragedy. And its chief financial officer, Erick Asmussen, and chief commercial officer Mark Vrablec have since made a combined £18.4million.
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Celotex, owned by French giant Saint-Gobain, supplied some of the insulation panels installed over Grenfell’s facade during the refurbishment.
The rest were provided by Irish manufacturer Kingspan.
From the fire to his resignation in 2021, Saint-Gobain boss Pierre-Andre de Chalendar was paid £11.7million.
Benoit Bazin, his successor, has since earned £15.8million.
The inquiry found the Celotex panels released toxic gas as they burned.
Irish cladding firm Kingspan’s billionaire founder Eugene Murtagh has banked £149.3million from shares and salary since the tragedy.
His son Gene, the group’s CEO since 2005, made £26million and bought a £7million seafront home in Dalkey, Dublin, a year after the fire.
The lead contractor in the £10million Grenfell renovation, Rydon, is led by Robert Bond, who drives an Aston with a personalised number plate and lives in a gated mansion.
The inquiry heard Rydon cut costs by switching zinc cladding for dangerous aluminium composite.
