Housing association chief appointed as Grenfell Inquiry’s third panel member

摘要

The government has appointed the chief executive of a Leeds housing association as the third member of the panel for the Grenfell Inquiry. Ali Akbor will sit at the inquiry’s hearings from November 2, alongside chairman Martin Moore-Bick and architect Thouria Istephan, a partner at Foster & Partners. The delay in appointing a third panellist after two resignations was criticised by a group representing the bereaved and survivors of the fire which claimed 72 lives in 2017. Akbor, who was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to the community in Leeds, is leaving Unity Homes and Enterprise where he has been chief executive since 1999. The housing association manages 1,300 homes and specialises in supporting BAME communities.