Families appalled as cladding firm says it won't attend event to hear Grenfell impact

The multibillion-dollar corporation that made Grenfell Tower's combustible cladding will not attend an event at which survivors and bereaved people will testify about their suffering directly to companies that many hold responsible for the disaster.

- Robert Booth

Arconic made the plastic-filled panels that burned like petrol in the Grenfell Tower fire of 14 June 2017, which claimed the lives of 72 people.

The company has prompted anger within the Grenfell community by rejecting an invitation to what is expected to be a highly charged but potentially cathartic face-to-face event this month. About 36 people will "speak about the impact [the disaster] has had on them and those they care about".

Speakers at the Grenfell Testimony Week, to be held in London from 23 to 26 January, include Hanan Wahabi, who lost five members of her family; Behailu Kebede, in whose flat the fire started; and Anne-Marie Murphy, whose brother Denis died in the fire.

It was arranged as part of the settlement of a civil claim brought by hundreds of people caught up in the disaster in which they secured £150m in compensation from defendants including Arconic. The package was mediated by Lord Neuberger, a former president of the supreme court.

Arconic told the Guardian: "We are not able to attend Testimony Week, and we have no comment beyond that."