Grenfell Tower: Firm's ex-manager sorry for safety query reaction

An ex-manager of an insulation maker whose product was used on Grenfell Tower has apologised for dismissing fire safety concerns and threatening legal action in internal emails.

Philip Heath, who works for Kingspan, forwarded a customer's fire test query and wrote that they were "getting me confused with someone who gives a dam".

Mr Heath admitted his reaction was "unprofessional".

The inquiry heard last week the firm "stretched the truth" on fire safety.

On Monday, the inquiry heard that Mr Heath used strong language in an internal email response.

Ex-employee Ivor Meredith, who was the firm's technical director, told the inquiry last week that Kingspan fire-tested its cladding in 2005, but changed the formulation the next year.

The first phase of the Grenfell inquiry concluded that cladding put on the west London tower block during its refurbishment fuelled the fire in June 2017 in which 72 people died.

Kingspan K15 insulation was used in the flammable cladding system mounted on to Grenfell Tower, alongside Celotex RS5000.

In October 2008 emails, an employee of facade engineers Wintech asked Kingspan for clarity on what basis its Kooltherm K15 insulation was suitable for buildings taller than 18 metres.

A Kingspan employee said it was "getting tricky what to write" without "putting ourselves in a legal situation".

In an internal email, Mr Heath responded using strong language: "Wintech can go f'#ck themselves, and if they are not careful we'll sue the a'#se of them".

Inquiry lawyer Kate Grange QC challenged Mr Heath on his comment, saying: "Can you explain why you wrote that, given Wintech were giving entirely accurate advice to their customers?"

He replied: "It was totally unprofessional and on reflection I wouldn't have said that. I think it was frustration we were going around in circles with them."

He was asked if it reflected a "culture" within Kingspan "in terms of its response to these kinds of requests".

Mr Heath said: "I don't believe so. Like in any organisation, you have your good times and your difficult times.

"We were just going around in circles and a bit of frustration came out there on a Friday.

"I think we did take life safety seriously. We provided Wintech with the data we had for them to make the appropriate analysis."

Mr Heath, now divisional business development director at Kingspan, also apologised after reacting to a similar query by writing that the firm making the request was "getting me confused with someone who gives a dam".

He added in the forwarded email: "I'm trying to think of a way out of this one, imagine a fire running up this tower !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Mr Heath told the inquiry he had forwarded the email to a terminally ill friend, adding: "I can only apologise for the contents of this email at the time made in 2008.

"Keith was a dear friend of mine who was terminally ill at the time. I was just forwarding him an email to give a snapshot of some of the work I was working on.

"It had no reflection on how I felt, I was just trying to lighten his load and lighten my load."