Grenfell: Man from flat where fire started condemns 'nasty tabloid lie' that he packed bags before fleeing but didn't alert neighbours

Behailu Kebede 'did nothing wrong', inquiry hears

The man living in the Grenfell Tower flat where the deadly fire broke out has condemned the “nasty lie” published in the tabloid press that he packed his bags before fleeing the fire.

Articles by outlets including Mail Online and The Sun, written in the aftermath of the disaster, contained allegations Behailu Kebede took the time to pack a bag before escaping the fire that killed 72 people.

But a statement to the inquiry read by Mr Kebede’s lawyer, Rajiv Menon QC, said the resident, who lived in Grenfell Tower for 25 years, “did nothing wrong”.

Mr Kebede went to great lengths to alert his neighbours to the blaze and left with only the “clothes he was wearing”, he said.

Giving Mr Kebede’s account of the night of the fire, Mr Menon said he was woken by a “beeping sound” coming from the kitchen.

He opened the kitchen door and saw smoke that “seemed to be coming from his Hotpoint fridge-freezer”, the inquiry heard. He then acted “quickly and instinctively”, telephoning 999 multiple times before finally getting through to a call-handler, according to the statement.

Mr Kebede banged on the bedroom doors of his flatmates, shouting “Fire! Fire! Fire!” and went into the hallway to bang on his neighbours’ doors. There, he again shouted that there was fire, the inquiry heard.

His lawyer said he waited until each neighbour on the fourth storey had opened their door and “only when he believed there was no one left on the floor”, himself exited the high-rise via the stairs.

The inquiry heard he left without his house keys, car keys or his wallet. “All he had on his person were the clothes he was wearing and the mobile phone with which he was calling 999,” he said.

“He did not pack a suitcase and leave after raising the alarm, a nasty lie printed in the days after the fire and sadly continue to be peddled nearly a year later,” he added.

“To his horror, Mr Kebede watched as the fire managed to exit his flat and take hold of the external facade.

“He desperately wanted to do more to help his neighbours and friends.”

Mr Menon said his client had been harassed and “doorstepped” by various journalists in the wake to the blaze, “whilst trying to grieve, whilst trying to cope”.

The inquiry was told Mr Kebede and his friends on Facebook were offered money in exchange for an interview with him. When they refused, photos from the social media platform were published in a number of newspapers that wrongly suggested Mr Kebede was on holiday after the fire, the hearing heard.

This had had “serious consequences” for Mr Kebede, the lawyer said, adding: “Leave Mr Kebede alone. He is a good man, he did nothing wrong.”

The survivor’s health has been so severely affected by the negative media attention he felt “terrified” about the prospect of beng compelled to give evidence to the inquiry, the lawyer said. Lead counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett QC previously said Mr Kebede was unlikely to have to speak personally at the hearings.

During his opening statement, Mr Menon also called on the inquiry to consider what role was played by race and class in the deadly fire.

While he was speaking, one attendee shouted: “Justice for Grenfell.” The outburst prompted Mr Martin Moore-Bick to tell the room to be quiet. Sir Martin reminded the inquiry again when Mr Menon was applauded at the end of his speech.

The inquiry into the Grenfell fire is in its third day of formal proceedings, which are taking place at Holborn Bars, a conference centre in central London.

The probe heard on Wednesday from Leslie Thomas QC, who represents a group of the bereaved and survivors. He said the stigmatised perception of social housing tenants “allowed the cost-cutting and deadly materials to become normalised”.

Describing what he said were deeply-rooted prejudices, he said: ”Council housing is for those who fail in life, people who need to be managed not embraced or admired.

“Desperate people without the agency to improve their lives, the destitute, the disenfranchised, vulnerable and voiceless.

“Descriptions not of people themselves but of what society has done to them.

“This attitude and stereotyping is what allowed the cost-cutting and deadly materials to become normalised.”

Mr Thomas said those responsible for the 2016 refurbishment of the tower should “hang their heads in collective shame”.

It was “incontrovertible” the tower was made less safe by the introduction of flammable material on its outside, he said.

One of his clients, he said, had remarked the refurbishment “changed the building from being an ugly, safe council block to a death trap that looked like a pretty, private block”.

But opening the inquiry’s afternoon session, James Maxwell-Scott QC, for the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), said the refurbishment was designed to improve the homes of social housing tenants in the tower.

He outlined how RBKC’s cabinet considered the refurbishment proposals on three separate occasions over two years, increasing the budget from £6m to £10.3m.

“Those are not the decisions of a council determined to build on the cheap,” he added.

He went on: “Given the huge political and media interest in the refurbishment since the fire, it may seem remarkable that it didn’t attract more cabinet interest at the time. But may I suggest that there are good reasons why this is so.

“The programme was not a politically controversial or politically high-profile issue. It did not involve cutting services or closing a much-loved community asset.

“At its core it involved a proposal to spend more than £10m improving the accommodation of social housing tenants.

“As such it had, if anything, the potential to unite those of different political persuasions rather than divide them.”

Mail Online and The Sun have been contacted for comment.