{"id":40158,"date":"2018-01-07T19:30:28","date_gmt":"2018-01-07T19:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=40158"},"modified":"2018-01-07T19:30:28","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T19:30:28","slug":"open-letter-re-kpmg-and-the-grenfell-tower-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2018\/01\/07\/open-letter-re-kpmg-and-the-grenfell-tower-inquiry\/","title":{"rendered":"Open letter re KPMG and the Grenfell Tower inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have co-signed the following letter<\/a>, which has been reported by the Guardian<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

We the undersigned, call upon the Cabinet Office and Prime Minister Theresa May to reverse the decision to appoint KPMG as advisors to the Grenfell Tower inquiry,\u00a0without competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The failure of KPMG to disclose a clear conflict of interest \u2014 that\u00a0KPMG audit Celotex, the parent company which produced the flammable cladding<\/a>, alongside its role as auditors of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Rydon Group, the principal contractor, raises serious questions about the professionalism of KPMG and its ability to define and serve the public interest.<\/p>\n

KPMG\u2019s reputation has already been seriously tarnished by the failed\u00a0HBOS<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cooperative Bank<\/a>\u00a0audits in the UK,\u00a0as well as its flawed auditing of overseas banks including Wachovia,\u00a0New Century Financial<\/a>,\u00a0Wells Fargo<\/a>, Countrywide and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (for which it has paid out millions of dollars in fines and settlements).\u00a0KPMG failures<\/a>\u00a0are also closely associated with the developing\u00a0Gupta political scandal<\/a>\u00a0in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s Grenfell Tower inquiry is already facing criticism from Grenfell survivors and victims for a\u00a0lack of inclusivity and diversity<\/a>, failure to consider the\u00a0deregulatory background<\/a>\u00a0via a series of reckless political decisions, made by Government\u2019s of various colours in the decades leading up to the Grenfell disaster.<\/p>\n

Government must recognise that appointing advisors so closely associated with firms under inquiry can only further fuel rumours of a deliberate cover-up and erode public trust.<\/p>\n

Big 4 accounting firms actively\u00a0lobbied the Conservative Party<\/a>\u00a0in the lead up to the 2010 General Election to close the Audit Commission, which audited and investigated public bodies like The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO).<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Audit Commission was shut by Government<\/a>\u00a0in April 2015, leaving an\u00a0accountability vacuum in local government audit and fraud investigation<\/a>, into which cases like Grenfell ultimately fall.<\/p>\n

KPMG and other audit firms have directly profited from Government austerity, via the \u201cbonfire of quangos<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and related boom in\u00a0consultancy and outsourcing work<\/a>, while governance and\u00a0scrutiny standards in public bodies have fallen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We question why the Cabinet Office only chose to announce the appointment of KPMG to the controversial Grenfell advisory role in December, when the decision was made in August?<\/p>\n

How does the Government\u2019s covert, fast-track appointment of KPMG as Grenfell advisor chime with public statements about the need to repair trust with the Grenfell Tower Community?<\/p>\n

It is entirely inappropriate to reward RBKC auditors KPMG with Grenfell Tower inquiry work and we urge Government to reverse the decision and to cancel the KPMG contract.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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\n
\n
Surname<\/th>\nName<\/th>\nOrganisation<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Allen<\/td>\nLily<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anderson<\/td>\nSamiah<\/td>\nNew School Economics- Goldsmiths<\/td>\nFounder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apps<\/td>\nPeter<\/td>\nJournalist<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baker<\/td>\nElly<\/td>\nNational Education Union<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bartley<\/td>\nJonathan<\/td>\nThe Green Party<\/td>\nCo-Leader<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bellows<\/td>\nAnita<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Benjamin<\/td>\nJoel<\/td>\nResearch for Action<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Berry<\/td>\nSian<\/td>\nGreen Party member of the London Assembly<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Binder<\/td>\nMiriam<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boait<\/td>\nFran<\/td>\nPositive Money<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Burnip<\/td>\nLinda<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Caller<\/td>\nHannah<\/td>\nFocus E15<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chute<\/td>\nRichard<\/td>\nEarls Court Residents Association<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clifford<\/td>\nEllen<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Clifton<\/td>\nSarah-Jayne<\/td>\nJubilee Debt Campaign - Director<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cobham<\/td>\nAlex<\/td>\nTax Justice Network<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colvin<\/td>\nNaomi<\/td>\nCampaigner<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cooper<\/td>\nDr Vickie<\/td>\nOpen University<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daniel<\/td>\nRhonda<\/td>\nLondon School of Economics<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dearden<\/td>\nNick<\/td>\nGlobal Justice Now<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dent-Coad<\/td>\nEmma<\/td>\n<\/td>\nMP for Kensignton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Duckworth<\/td>\nSam<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Edwards<\/td>\nMichael<\/td>\nBartlett School - UCL<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El-Gingihy<\/td>\nYoussef<\/td>\nAuthor of \"How to Dismantle the NHS in 10 easy steps\"<\/td>\nGP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ellard<\/td>\nBob<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fraser<\/td>\nIan<\/td>\n<\/td>\nFinancial journalist & author of Shredded: Inside RBS The Bank That Broke Britain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gilbert<\/td>\nPaul<\/td>\nUniversity of Sussex<\/td>\nLecturer in International Development -<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gill<\/td>\nDr Bob<\/td>\nGP and Producer \u2018The Great NHS Heist\u2019<\/td>\nDoctor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Graeber<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\nLondon School of Economics<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gray<\/td>\nJohn<\/td>\nLB Newham<\/td>\nCllr<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Greene<\/td>\nAndy<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hamilton<\/td>\nJohn<\/td>\nLewisham People Before Profit<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hilder<\/td>\nPaul<\/td>\nCampaigner<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hodkinson<\/td>\nDr Stuart<\/td>\nUniversity of Leeds<\/td>\nDoctor, Associate Professor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hodson<\/td>\nIan<\/td>\nBritish Food and Allied Workers Union<\/td>\nNational President<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jasper<\/td>\nLee<\/td>\nBlacksox<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jeffrey<\/td>\nNicola<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jenkins<\/td>\nIan<\/td>\nMerthyr Rising Festival<\/td>\nOrganiser<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jones<\/td>\nDr Paul<\/td>\nUniversity of Liverpool<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Keats<\/td>\nAndy<\/td>\nSerious Banking Complaints Bureau<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Keen<\/td>\nSteve<\/td>\nEconomist and Author<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kelly<\/td>\nJohn<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kennedy<\/td>\nSeraphima<\/td>\nGoldsmiths University of London<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Laws<\/td>\nVince<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lewis<\/td>\nClive<\/td>\n<\/td>\nMP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lines<\/td>\nTom<\/td>\n<\/td>\nEconomics Consultant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MacFarlane<\/td>\nLaurie<\/td>\nOpen Democracy<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Madden<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\nLondon School of Economics<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahmoud<\/td>\nSarah<\/td>\nNew Economics Foundation<\/td>\nSenior Economist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matthews<\/td>\nCerys<\/td>\nMBE<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McGowan<\/td>\nMark<\/td>\nThe Artist Taxi Driver<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McKenna<\/td>\nDenise<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McKenzie<\/td>\nLisa<\/td>\nLondon School of Economics<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McNeil<\/td>\nJo<\/td>\nUniversity of Liverpool UCU<\/td>\nPresident<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McNulty<\/td>\nMike<\/td>\nB.A.C.A<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Miller<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\nUniversity of Bath<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Minton<\/td>\nAnna<\/td>\nUniversity of East London<\/td>\nReader in Architecture & Author \u2018Big Capital: Who is London For?\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mitchell<\/td>\nNeil<\/td>\nBusinessman & Anti-Corruption Campaigner<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Moore<\/td>\nPaul<\/td>\nHBOS Whistleblower<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Murphy<\/td>\nRichard<\/td>\nCity University of London<\/td>\nFCA Professor of Practice in International Political Economy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Muverengwi<\/td>\nFaith<\/td>\nTapepuka<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nightingale<\/td>\nJohn<\/td>\n<\/td>\nReverend<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O\u2019Neil<\/td>\nDr Martin<\/td>\nCardiff University<\/td>\nDr<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oswald<\/td>\nMichael<\/td>\nDocumentary Filmmaker: The Spider\u2019s Web: Britain\u2019s Second Empire<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Palmer<\/td>\nHilda<\/td>\nHazards Campaign\/ Families Against Corporate Killers<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paton<\/td>\nDr Kirsteen<\/td>\nUniversity of Liverpool<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peoples Audit<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peters<\/td>\nPaula<\/td>\nDisabled People Against Cuts<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pettifor<\/td>\nAnn<\/td>\nPRIME<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pinto-Duschinsky<\/td>\nNendie<\/td>\n\u2018On the Ground at Grenfell\u2019<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quentin<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\n<\/td>\nBarrister<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rogers<\/td>\nLudovica<\/td>\nDebt Resistance UK<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Runswick<\/td>\nAlexandra<\/td>\nUnlock Democracy<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russell<\/td>\nLucie<\/td>\nCommunications Professional<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ryan-Collins<\/td>\nJosh<\/td>\nUCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samuels<\/td>\nJane<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shah<\/td>\nAtul<\/td>\nUniversity of Suffolk<\/td>\nProfessor of Accounting and Finance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shaheen<\/td>\nFaiza<\/td>\nCLASS Think Tank<\/td>\nDirector<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sikka<\/td>\nPrem<\/td>\nUniversity of Essex<\/td>\nEmeritus Professor of Accounting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Snell<\/td>\nWill<\/td>\nTax Justice UK<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sng<\/td>\nPaul<\/td>\nDirector \u2018Dispossession: The Great Housing Swindle\u2019<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stepanovic<\/td>\nLisa<\/td>\nSocial Ark CIC<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stephanou<\/td>\nGeorgie<\/td>\n<\/td>\nPotent Whisper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tarry<\/td>\nSam<\/td>\nPresident of CLASS Think Tank and Cllr LB Barking and Dagenham<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The People vs PFI<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thorpe<\/td>\nDoug<\/td>\nLeft Unity<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tombs<\/td>\nSteve<\/td>\nThe Open University<\/td>\nProfessor of Criminology<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Topple<\/td>\nSteve<\/td>\n<\/td>\nIndependent Journalist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tucker<\/td>\nPilgrim<\/td>\nCommunity Organiser<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tyler<\/td>\nImogen<\/td>\nLancaster University<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wainright<\/td>\nHilary<\/td>\nRed Pepper<\/td>\nEditor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waugh<\/td>\nMegan<\/td>\nUniversity of Leeds<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Whyte<\/td>\nDavid<\/td>\nUniversity of Liverpool<\/td>\nProfessor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wilson<\/td>\nNicholas<\/td>\nIndependent anti-corruption campaigner.<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Womack<\/td>\nAmelia<\/td>\nThe Green Party<\/td>\nDeputy Leader<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wray<\/td>\nBen<\/td>\nCommonweal<\/td>\nHead of Policy -<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wynne-Jones<\/td>\nRos<\/td>\nJournalist<\/td>\n-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zlotowitz<\/td>\nSally<\/td>\nHousing and Mental Health Network<\/td>\nClinical and Community Psychologist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have co-signed the following letter, which has been reported by the Guardian: We the undersigned, call upon the Cabinet Office and Prime Minister Theresa
Read the full article…<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-kpmg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}