Kingspan was dishonest and cynical, Grenfell Inquiry finds

The Grenfell Memorial Wall in west London.

The insulation company Kingspan has been heavily criticised in the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

The blaze in west London in 2017 resulted in the deaths of 72 people.

The report published on Wednesday found Kingspan, which is headquartered in County Cavan, was not directly responsible for the fire but showed "complete disregard for fire safety" in how it marketed one of its products.

It also demonstrated "deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty...in pursuit of commercial gain".

The building products firm is one of the Republic of Ireland's biggest businesses and sponsors Ulster Rugby.

• Follow live: Final report into Grenfell Tower disaster published

• Key findings from the inquiry

A small amount of a Kingspan insulation product, Kooltherm K15, which was used on the building, was not the reason for the fire.

The main cause was the tower's cladding, which did not comply with building regulations and allowed flames to spread rapidly.

However, the inquiry's final report sets out a "path to disaster" stretching back to the 1990s and looking at the broader conduct of the construction industry.

It found that Kingspan "knowingly created a false market in insulation" from 2005 onwards for use on buildings over 18 metres tall.

Kingspan claimed K15 had been part of a system that had been successfully tested under the BS 8414 cladding fire safety test, meaning it could be used in the wall of any building of that height regardless of its design or other components.

'Cynically exploited'

The inquiry branded this a false claim, adding: "As Kingspan knew, K15 could not honestly be sold as suitable for use in the external walls of buildings over 18 metres in height generally, but that is what it had succeeded in doing for many years."

Kingspan relied on the results of a single cladding fire safety test performed in 2005, on a system whose components were not representative of a typical external wall.

It continued to rely on that test despite changing the composition of K15 in 2006.

• Ulster-Kingspan deal's end is 'calculated move' say Grenfell families

• Grenfell: £20m compensation agreed for firefighters

• Grenfell Tower: What happened

Further tests on systems incorporating the new composition K15 in the following two years were "disastrous", the report found, but Kingspan did not withdraw the product from the market, "despite its own concerns about its fire performance".

In 2009, Kingspan obtained a certificate that "contained false statements about K15", it continued, and on which it relied "for many years to sell the product", adding that it made a "calculated decision" to use the certificate to "mask, or distract from, the absence of supporting test evidence".

It concluded Kingspan "cynically exploited" the industry's lack of detailed knowledge about insulation and cladding fire safety tests, and "relied on the fact that an unsuspecting market was very likely to rely on its own claim about the product".

Protesters opposing Ulster Rugby's sponsorship deal outside Kingspan Stadium in January 2022

In its statement, Kingspan said it welcomed the report, "which is crucial to a public understanding of what went wrong and why".

"It explains clearly and unambiguously that the type of insulation was immaterial, and that the principal reason for the fire spread was the PE ACM cladding, which was not made by Kingspan," the company's statement outlined.

"Kingspan has long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business.

"These were in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a Group, then or now. While deeply regrettable, they were not found to be causative of the tragedy," the company said.

What has Ulster Rugby said?

Ulster's home ground in Belfast has been called the Kingspan Stadium for the past decade, but that will end in June 2025.

Ulster had previously defended its links to Kingspan and there was no reference to Grenfell in the announcement that the sponsorship deals were not being renewed.

The government previously called for Ulster Rugby to reconsider its relationship with Kingspan, which sponsors the team's jerseys as well as its home stadium.

Kingspan is a shirt sponsor for Ulster and holds naming rights to the club's home stadium

Grenfell United, who represent survivors and bereaved families of those who lost their lives in the fire, were understood to have written to Ulster Rugby asking the club to reconsider its Kingspan deal.

On Wednesday, an Ulster Rugby spokesperson said: “We note the comments expressed by Sir Martin Moore-Bick in the Phase 2 report published today, along with its detailed findings. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

“As was announced at the beginning of the year, Kingspan’s sponsorship of Ulster Rugby will come to an end in June 2025, following an agreed 12-month transitionary period.”

Kingspan has also been the headline sponsor of the Cavan GAA county football team since 1995.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) have been approached for comment.