Grenfell insulation manufacturer threatened to injunct industry insurers, inquiry hears

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The manufacturer of the flammable insulation used on Grenfell Tower threatened to injunct an industry insurer which wanted to tell its members the product was unsafe to use on high-rise buildings, an inquiry has heard.

Kingspan called in solicitors after housing insurers NHBC (National House Building Council) suggested they would not cover high-rise buildings using Kingspan’s K15 insulation, as the manufacturers could not prove it was fire safe.

After more than 12 months of back and forth, by early-2015 the NHBC had placed ultimatums on Kingspan to provide test data to prove that Kooltherm K15 insulation was safe for use in buildings more than 18 metres tall.

The disclosures came during evidence from a former member of Kingspan’s technical team who worked on the K15 product, Ivor Meredith.

Mr Meredith had admitted in his witness statement: “We were struggling to get the technology to pass, to justify our lie.”

A letter from NHBC to the insulators in 2015 said: “The absence of evidence from Kingspan means we will soon be faced with having to decline to accept buildings currently under construction with K15 products” without further evidence to support it could be used in tall buildings.

A response from Kingspan’s solicitors, Fenwick Elliott, requesting more time to prove they can be compliant, promised further action.

It said: “Given the seriousness of this matter, in particular the significant impact on our client’s business in terms of damage to its reputation and serious financial loss that would clearly be suffered […] our client considered it will be left with no alternative but to protect its position by applying to the court for an injunction preventing the NHBC from making the statements you propose in relation to the K15 boards.”

Although Mr Meredith said the legal goings-on were “sort of above him”, he said it was a “very heavy-handed approach”.

When questioned by inquiry lawyer Kate Grange QC, he added: “I wouldn’t say that [the NHBC] position was unjustifiable.

“This is pushing back in some order.”

Tuesday’s hearing was also told that Mr Meredith was “uncomfortable” with work to try to get the dangerous material approved.

During an appeal hearing after his employment with Kingspan was terminated in September 2015, Mr Meredith explained how he faced immense pressure and stress as a result of his work to try to get K15 falsely declared as safe on the market.

Mr Meredith told HR staff he had to “pretend he was stupid” and had a “mission to derail the whole process”.

Handwritten notes from the meeting – not made by Mr Meredith – detail him talking about “I had to be careful, a lot of responsibility, tricky line.

“Some would question playing in market not suitable for.” [sic]

The notes added: “Business put me in a very difficult position last year, it was doing my technical integrity no good + say that our product was OK.

“My mission was to derail the whole process and not much fun. Pretend you are stupid”.

Pushed further on the notes, Mr Meredith said: “I was very emotional at this time as you can imagine, I read this now and I question where my head was at the time, but there’s some truths coming out here obviously.”

He added: “I was put in an impossible situation.”

The evidence comes just one month after it was confirmed that test certificates for K15 had been formally withdrawn.

Employees from Celotex – the other company which made insulation used in Grenfell’s cladding – have also been questioned about the manipulation of a fire safety test to secure a pass for its combustible RS5000 product for use on high-rise buildings.

The cladding on the outside of the 24-storey block has previously been found to have fuelled the fire that claimed 72 lives in 2017.

The inquiry continues on Wednesday with more evidence from witnesses related to Kingspan.