London – Celotex committed a 'fraud on the market' and made misleading claims about the fire performance of RS5000 insulation products used on the Grenfell Tower refurbishment, according to allegations made at the inquiry into the fire.
The allegations were made by Jonathan Roper, a former assistant product manager at the company, during the inquiry into the fire that killed 79 people in 2017.
Roper said the company was 'dishonest' and 'over-engineered' a fire test to get a pass. The material was tested in February 2014, and failed at 26 minutes. Three months later, the material, with concealed magnesium oxide flame-retardant panels, passed the test.
Roper told the Inquiry he was asked to produce slides for the sales team that showed the material passed, without mentioning the earlier failed test, or that magnesium oxide board had been used in the second test.
Under cross examination he said this was 'downright misleading' and 'intended to mislead.'
He added that senior management were present at the meeting, and there was nowhere for him to take his misgivings.
Roper subsequently told the inquiry, 'I went along with a lot of actions at Celotex that, looking back on reflection, were completely unethical, and one that I probably didn’t potentially consider the impact of at the time. I was … 22, 23, first job. I thought this was standard, albeit it did sit very uncomfortably with me.'
The inquiry continues. Submissions can be followed here.
