Backlash as Mercedes F1 team sign partnership with Grenfell insulation firm
The Shadow levelling-up secretary has written to Michael Gove
Last updated 3rd Dec 2021
Formula One team Mercedes has been branded "deeply disrespectful" after signing a partnership deal with a firm behind some of the insulation installed in Grenfell Tower.
The shadow levelling-up secretary Lisa Nandy has written to Michael Gove asking for him to do more to hold property developers accountable for using unsafe cladding.
Kingspan's K15 insulation was one of the products installed on Grenfell Tower during its refurbishment, although the majority of the insulation used on the west London tower block was made by another company.
The Wigan MP has written a letter to Michael Gove, asking for the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to "take the principled same stance" against "property developers responsible for flats that have been covered in the same dangerous ACM cladding since the fire in 2017".
Her remarks come after Michael Gove said he would write to the Mercedes team to ask it to reconsider the deal, adding it was "deeply disappointing" it had accepted the sponsorship.
An inquiry is examining how Grenfell Tower came to be coated in flammable materials which contributed to the spread of flames which shot up the tower in June 2017, killing 72 people.
Michael Gove tweeted: 'Deeply disappointed that Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team are accepting sponsorship from cladding firm Kingspan while the Grenfell Inquiry is ongoing.I will be writing to Mercedes to ask them to reconsider. The Grenfell community deserves better'.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has previously written about the Grenfell Tower fire on his Instagram account.
In 2020 he posted a picture with a caption that said: "Today marks three years since the horrific Grenfell Tower fire in London.
"Remembering the 72 souls we lost and their loved ones, and everyone affected by this tragedy."
Meanwhile, the campaign group of survivors and bereaved relatives from the Grenfell Tower disaster have written to the Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff urging him to end the Kingspan deal.
A spokesman for the Mercedes team said on Thursday: "Our partner Kingspan has supported, and continues to support, the vitally important work of the inquiry to determine what went wrong and why in the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
"Our new partnership announced this week is centred on sustainability and will support us in achieving our targets in this area."
Kingspan said in a statement: "The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy that should never have happened, and Kingspan supports the vitally important work of the inquiry to determine what went wrong and why.
"Kingspan played no role in the design of the cladding system on Grenfell Tower, where its K15 product constituted approximately 5% of the insulation and was used as a substitute product without Kingspan's knowledge in a system that was not compliant with the building's regulations.