Grenfell Tower manager confronted over 'cheap and dangerous' refurbishment before fatal fire

'That was your job to keep people safe, wasn’t it?'

The manager of Grenfell Tower has been asked whether he is responsible for the blaze that killed 72 people.

Robert Black was chief executive of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which is being investigated by a public inquiry for its running of the tower.

Footage shows a BBC Panorama crew approaching Mr Black on the street, asking him: ”So Grenfell Tower, that was your job to keep people safe, wasn’t it? That was your actual duty. Did you fail in that duty, sir?"

When he does not respond and continues walking along the road, presenter Richard Bilton says: “It’s no good pushing me... I’m asking you a question.

“Sir I’m just asking you straightforward questions. I’ve written to you, just answer the questions.

“It was done on the cheap, wasn’t it sir? The planning application was signed in your name.

“It had a cheap, dangerous cladding and insulation.”

Asked again if he took responsibility, and told “people of Grenfell want to hear your side”, he simply responded: “There’s a public inquiry.”

Fire experts have raised concerns about the cladding used to cover the outside of the tower during a refurbishment between 2014 and 2016.

The BBC Panorama investigation also found that the the insulation used on Grenfell Tower never passed required safety tests and should not have been used on the building.

The issues are set to be examined as part of the public probe, which opened yesterday with emotional tributes to six of the victims of the blaze.