Claude Wehrle, a former executive at Arconic, has denied any personal responsibility for the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 72 lives, despite being heavily criticized in the official inquiry.
Wehrle, who led the technical sales support team at the cladding manufacturer, has been accused of “deliberate dishonesty” in promoting the flammable Reynobond PE cladding used in the tower’s refurbishment. However, Wehrle claims he was not responsible for key decisions regarding the product’s sales.
In an interview with the BBC, Wehrle described the fire as “a tragedy” but insisted, “I was not the one making decisions” about the cladding’s use. He rejected accusations of dishonesty and deflected responsibility to others in the company. This has sparked outrage among Grenfell survivors, particularly since Wehrle refused to testify in person during the inquiry, citing French legal restrictions.
The Grenfell Tower inquiry’s final report, released earlier this week, highlighted that Wehrle and other Arconic employees knew the Reynobond PE cladding was unsafe for high-rise buildings when folded into the box shapes used on Grenfell. An email sent by Wehrle in 2010 warned colleagues that this design would fail European fire safety standards, urging them to keep this information “VERY CONFIDENTIAL.” Despite this knowledge, Wehrle later told a customer that the box shape was safer, an act that the inquiry concluded showed his “willingness to resort to deliberate dishonesty.”
Wehrle maintains that higher-level executives were responsible for key decisions and expressed remorse for the tragedy, though he stopped short of accepting blame. Arconic, which manufactured the cladding, has also faced criticism for withholding test results from UK safety bodies. The company, along with other firms involved in the Grenfell refurbishment, was found to have engaged in “systematic dishonesty” in marketing its products.
The UK government has vowed to take further action to address unsafe cladding still present in over 2,000 buildings across the country, though no specific timeline has been set. Meanwhile, calls for criminal prosecutions continue, with experts warning that trials may not begin until 2029.
With input from the Guardian, BBC, and the Daily Mail.
