Grenfell-linked housing director receives permanent senior role at Barnet Group

Appointment revives accountability dispute

Laura Johnson, who was housing director at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea when the Grenfell Tower fire occurred, has been permanently appointed director of development and property at the Barnet Group. The council-owned organisation manages about 13,000 homes. The Guardian reported the appointment on September 13 after Johnson had served in the role on an interim basis and was made permanent in August.

The decision has prompted strong objections from survivors and bereaved families. Grenfell United urged the Barnet Group to reconsider, arguing that the appointment disregards findings from the public inquiry while the criminal investigation remains unresolved. The group’s objection is not a criminal finding against Johnson: police have not publicly named the individuals from whom they are seeking charges, and prosecutors are expected to make charging decisions later.

What the inquiry established

The official Phase 2 inquiry report provides the key institutional record. It found that Johnson exercised decisive influence in favour of re-tendering Grenfell’s refurbishment after concerns about the original contractor. The Guardian reported that the lower-budget process ultimately contributed to replacing metal cladding with combustible plastic-filled panels. The inquiry also examined decisions concerning the installation and inspection of self-closing devices on fire doors.

Volume three of the report concluded that the council scrutiny committee was not told about decisions principally made by Johnson concerning those devices before the fire. Government fire-door guidance subsequently emphasised that effective self-closing mechanisms are essential because open doors allow smoke and toxic gases to spread through shared escape routes. These findings explain why the appointment carries significance beyond an ordinary personnel change.

Barnet defends its recruitment process

The Barnet Group said it knew about the inquiry findings, considered them during recruitment and selected Johnson as the strongest legally eligible candidate after a competitive process. Her permanent salary was reported as £157,078. That response establishes the organisation’s position but does not settle the wider governance question: whether legal eligibility and professional references are sufficient when a candidate’s previous decisions were criticised by a major public inquiry.

The next developments will be whether Barnet’s board or council reviews the appointment, whether it publishes more detail about its risk assessment, and whether the criminal process changes the factual landscape. Until then, the fair distinction is between established inquiry findings, the survivors’ demand for reconsideration and Barnet’s defence of its procedure. No inspected source established that Johnson has been charged with an offence.