SOMEONE WHO worked at the company which made the flammable material used on Grenfell Tower has admitted unethical behaviour.

Jonathan Roper, a former assistant product manager at Celotex said that his work was “dishonest” in a public inquiry. 

It involved getting his company’s RS5000 insulation approved to be used as insulation on high-rise buildings. 

The RS500 foam insulation fuelled flames at Grenfell Tower, and released toxic fumes into the atmosphere. 

Roper admitted that he did not feel comfortable with what he was asked to do at the time. 

In the inquiry on Monday, Roper said that the company presented its fire test results in a misleading way. 

He added that the company should have considered not selling its product to be used on high-rise buildings. 

Tried to raise concerns

Roper had tried to raise concerns in 2013. He had been asked to research how the company could use its insulation on buildings over 18m tall. 

He wrote to colleagues and asked them if the company’s material  “realistically should not be used behind most cladding panels, because in the event of a fire it would burn.”

However, the response he received from colleagues made it clear the company wanted to proceed. 

In the inquiry, he acknowledged that for the company, it was a question of whether Celotex complied with building regulations or tried to get around the rules to make more money.

Fire test failure

In early 2014, a fire test failed. In May 2014, the company passed the fire test by adding non-combustible elements and not disclosing it, the inquiry heard.

Roper said: “I went along with a lot of actions at Celotex that, looking back on reflection, were completely unethical and that I probably didn’t consider the impact of at the time.

“I was 22 or 23, first job, I thought this was standard practice, albeit it did sit very uncomfortably with me.” 

He added: “I felt incredibly uncomfortable with what I was asked to do.”

He also said there was no-one in the firm he could ask about his concerns. 

Celotex response

Celotex, in their opening statement at the inquiry said:  “In the course of investigations carried out by Celotex after the Grenfell Tower fire, certain issues emerged concerning the testing, certification and marketing of Celotex’s products… These matters involved unacceptable conduct on the part of a number of employees.”

The company also told the inquiry that “the combustible nature of [its insulation] was, or should have been, known to construction professionals.”

Celotex also said staff had left its organisation, following disciplinary procedures. 

Celotex is a subsidiary of the French construction materials company Saint-Gorbain. 

The group has also said it promoted RS5000’s use only on buildings taller than 18 metres in a “rainscreen cladding system with the specific components”, used when it passed the fire safety test.

The second part of the Grenfell inquiry is still ongoing.