Arconic, the company linked to the flammable cladding used on Grenfell Tower, paid more compensation to its shareholders than to the victims of the disaster. Of the £86m in Grenfell-related settlements, Arconic itself paid £1.5m, with the remainder covered by insurers.
An inquiry identified Arconic's product as the "primary cause" of the fire's rapid spread. The overall cost of making hundreds of buildings safe, estimated to be multibillion-pound, is largely borne by the state.
A report by Common Wealth and FIND proposes two changes for England and Wales: a "failure to prevent" law, making companies responsible for preventing foreseeable serious harm, and a "punitive damages" approach, which would determine what a company should pay for its conduct beyond victim compensation.
The Grenfell Tower fire in London in June 2017 claimed 72 lives, including 18 children. Nearly a decade later, no one has been criminally charged over the causes of the fire.