Grenfell Tower: Rethink deal with insulation firm, Mercedes F1 urged

Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and government minister Michael Gove have criticised Formula 1 team Mercedes for signing a deal with a firm linked to the tower.

The F1 team signed a deal with Kingspan, which made some of the insulation used in the cladding.

Grenfell survivors called the sponsorship "truly shocking", while Mr Gove said he was "deeply disappointed".

Kingspan said it played no role in the design of the cladding on the tower.

The company said its product made up only 5% of the insulation in the block, and it was used without its knowledge.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team - which Britain's Lewis Hamilton drives for - announced it had signed a partnership deal with Kingspan on Wednesday.

Kingspan's K15 insulation was one of the products installed on Grenfell Tower during its refurbishment. But the majority of the insulation used on the tower block was made by another company.

The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire is currently examining how the building was covered in flammable materials, which contributed to the spread of flames that took hold of the tower in June 2017, killing 72 people.

Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved families from the fire, said in an open letter to the F1 team that the announcement of the new partnership was "truly shocking".

"This news has shattered us," it said, adding it wanted Mercedes to "immediately sever your relationship" from the company.

In a tweet, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove said he was "deeply disappointed" the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team were accepting sponsorship from Kingspan while the Grenfell Tower Inquiry was ongoing.

He added: "I will be writing to Mercedes to ask them to reconsider. The Grenfell community deserves better."

Lisa Nandy, Mr Gove's Labour shadow, welcomed his "swift criticism" of the sponsorship deal.

However, she has also written to Mr Gove asking him "to take the same principled stance in relation to the decision by the Conservative Party to take millions of pounds in donations from property developers responsible for flats that have been covered in the same dangerous ACM cladding since 2017".

She called for the money to be returned to "send a clear and unequivocal message of support of the Grenfell community".

Mr Gove's department has been approached for comment.

Kingspan said: "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 buildings regulations.

"The new partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team reflects the ambitious sustainability targets of both organisations."