The outcome of the first phase of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire will be published at the end of October.

The report is expected to limit itself to the events that occurred on the night of 14 June 2017 when 72 people died. The second phase of the inquiry, which is due to start early in 2020 will focus on the circumstances and causes of the disaster.

During phase one, the inquiry sat for 123 days of hearings between May and December last year, it heard from over 140 witnesses and received over 500,000 documents relevant to both phases. To date, the Inquiry has disclosed over 49,344 documents relating to phase two and this process will continue in tranches throughout the remainder of 2019.

The inquiry chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick has written to the Prime Minister and all of the core participants (including the survivors and family members of the deceased) to update them on progress. The Prime Minister confirmed that he would like the phase one report to be laid before Parliament and published before the end of October. A copy of the report will be provided to all core participants and their legal representatives at least 36 hours before its publication.

The report will be laid in Parliament and published on the inquiry website on Wednesday 30 October 2019.

By Patrick Mooney, Editor