A senior fire engineer did not think cladding Grenfell Tower would pose any “particular issues or problems”, the inquiry into the 2017 blaze has heard.

On the first day of evidence in nearly three months, it was revealed that Clare Barker, the former principal fire engineer at fire safety consultant Exova, did not suggest any proposed cladding system needed to have a separate fire safety assessment during a meeting in July 2012.

Barker, who is based in Warrington, said she was involved with the Grenfell Tower refurbishment project between July and August 2012 and she then passed the project on to a London-based colleague, Terrance Ashton, who was off ill during her involvement.

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