Laura Johnson, former Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) housing chief has been appointed to another senior housing role with a London authority, a move that has drawn harsh criticism from Grenfell survivors and charity groups.
Johnson has been hired by Barnet Council as their group director of development and property, following what they called a “robust and publicly advertised recruitment process”. The council has defended itself, claiming that Johnson was the strongest candidate for the role and that they are legally entitled to make the appointment.
The Grenfell inquiry is still ongoing, but confirmed failings at multiple levels of RKBC. During the inquiry, Johnson was found to have pushed for cheaper cladding materials which led to the installation of combustible, plastic filled cladding for financial reasons. She was also found to have slowed down the installation of self-closing mechanisms on the buildings fire doors, despite safety concerns being raised by the London fire brigade.
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A resident who escaped from the 16th floor of the tower who had repeatedly warned about safety concerns told the Guardian “The fact that we, as bereaved survivors, haven’t received any justice nine years after the fire, and yet the people that were involved in senior decision-making are able to carry on working in the social housing sector, have responsibility for health and safety, and receive massive salaries – it feels so disrespectful.
“If I was a resident in a Barnet council home, I’d be absolutely petrified.”
A journalist from Inside Housing, Peter Apps, closely followed the Grenfell Inquiry and spoke of Laura’s involvement during her time with RBKC: “Laura Johnson was involved in the decision to overclad the tower.
“She got quite involved in some of the complaints that residents were making about it.
“She also was heavily involved where RBKC were asked to fix self-closing devices in fire doors across the 9,000 homes they owned.
“It’s one of the very crucial elements of the inquiry because it had serious consequences later on the night of the fire. And it was very much that decision sat with Laura Johnson based on the evidence that we saw at the inquiry.”
The Met police previously disclosed that they are approaching submitting evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service related to the Grenfell inquiry, seeking charges against 57 individuals and 20 companies. These individuals and companies have not been publicly named, although it is expected that no trial will occur for a number of years.
Barnet Council has faced outrage from survivors and Grenfell support groups, with Grenfell United urging the council to rethink its decision.
