Following conflict of interest furore, KPMG quits Grenfell Tower inquiry

Following a series of high profile concerns over their appointment, accountancy firm KPMG have quit their advisory role on the Grenfell inquiry.

Campaigners had loudly voiced their beliefs that KPMG should be removed following the company failing to reveal a conflict of interest.

KPMG are actually the auditor of three of the firms that are under major scrutiny by the inquiry into the tragic tower block blaze, which took the lives of 71 people on the 14th June 2017.

Speaking on the issue, KPMG said that they had “mutually agreed with the inquiry that we will step down from our role with immediate effect”.

The accountancy firm themselves audits the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which coincidentally, is where the tower is located.

In addition, it also audits Rydon Construction, who refurbished the tower back in 2015, and Celotex, who came under fierce criticism as they manufactured the insulation material that was used inside Grenfell Tower.

A host of high profile members of society such as two Labour MPs in Clive Lewis and Emma Dent-Coad, musician Lily Allen, and several academics and campaigners signed an open letter to Theresa May, all urging the prime minister to take action on KPMG’s appointment, citing that the appointment would “only further fuel rumours of a deliberate cover-up and erode public trust.”

KPMG have since spoken out about their role on the inquiry, claiming that the position of project management advisor was “purely operational” and that they had absolutely no role advising “on the substance of the inquiry”.

“Whilst we are confident that no conflicts exist between our role advising the inquiry and our work for other clients, we recognise that strength of opinion about our role risks undermining confidence in the inquiry,” a spokesperson added.