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Public Procurement and Construction law specialist Michael Bowsher QC contributed to today’s article in The Times, written by Jonathan Ames which envisages that procurement law specialists will also be involved in the inquiry to the tragedy:
“Michael Bowsher, QC, of Monckton Chambers, acknowledges that discussion is speculative at present, but highlights several likely issues. The inquiry and lawyers involved in any subsequent legal action on behalf of residents will want to investigate the contractual arrangements for the tower’s management and whether there were any financial incentives for “key performance indicators”.
Other core issues, predicts Bowsher, include “has public procurement been so fixed on pursuing the agenda of social value and environmental goals that we have failed to give enough weight to basic performance factors such as safety? And if — and it’s a big if — the root of this tragedy is in the use of prohibited products, defects or poor workmanship, do we need to see if procurement systems are still incentivising short cuts or unduly prioritising procurement law compliance?”
Subscribers to the Times can read the full article here.
To read the article by Michael Bowsher QC on the same topic, published by Practical Law, please click here.