Grenfell inquiry hears cladding posed 'no fire safety issues' in 2012

First sitting since mid-March told of decisions made prior to tower refurbishment

A senior fire engineer did not think cladding Grenfell Tower would pose any particular issues or problems" for fire safety during early discussions about refurbishing the tower block, the inquiry into the disaster has heard.

Clare Barker, the former principal fire engineer at Exova, did not raise the need for any proposed cladding system to have a separate fire safety assessment during a meeting in July 2012, the inquiry heard on Monday, its first sitting since mid-March after being paused by the pandemic.