ICE resignation over Grenfell: competency and safety lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Fellow and risk specialist John Carpenter has resigned from the Institution of Civil Engineers, issuing an open letter criticising what he calls the ICE’s “lack of adequate response” to the Grenfell Tower fire. Carpenter, a long-standing member with recognised expertise in risk management, argues the institution has failed to provide sufficiently robust professional guidance on fire safety, cladding and high-rise residential design. His departure signals growing pressure on professional bodies to tighten competency standards and technical leadership on life-safety critical infrastructure.
Technical Brief
- Resignation was formalised via an open letter, creating a documented record of alleged safety-governance shortcomings.
- Public resignation from a chartered body raises questions about its internal mechanisms for post-disaster technical learning.
- Open-letter format enables scrutiny of ICE’s procedures for issuing safety guidance after major failures.
- For geotechnical and structural engineers, the case underlines reliance on institutions for authoritative life-safety guidance, beyond statutory codes.
- Similar professional bodies may face pressure to codify clearer competence requirements for fire and façade-related design responsibilities.
Our Take
Within the 139 Policy stories in our database, relatively few Op-Ed pieces focus on professional institutions like the Institution of Civil Engineers, suggesting this resignation could sharpen scrutiny on how chartered bodies embed post-Grenfell safety learning into their governance.
Across the 487 tag-matched Safety and Standard/Guideline pieces, most coverage centres on regulatory changes and technical codes rather than internal dissent, so a Fellow-level departure from ICE signals that perceived gaps in institutional response may now be a material professional-risk issue for senior engineers.
For practitioners, criticism directed at ICE in a New Civil Engineer context is likely to influence how clients and regulators view compliance culture, pushing firms to demonstrate not just adherence to formal standards but also active engagement with lessons from major failures such as Grenfell.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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