Police are seeking to bring charges against 57 people for the Grenfell Tower fire, but victims reacted with fury yesterday after being warned they will have to wait over a decade for justice.
Scotland Yard has announced that detectives are getting ready to submit evidence files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the force has already commissioned the building of a £2million replica of the tower to show jurors in potential forthcoming prosecutions.
But after a £150million police investigation – billed as the biggest in the history of Scotland Yard – bereaved families will still face years of waiting before any criminal trials are held over the blaze which killed 72 people.
Lead investigator Garry Moncrieff said his team of 220 detectives had gathered ‘strong evidence’ against 20 companies and 57 individuals suspected of wrongdoing.
Police are due to submit files of evidence in September and the CPS has promised to reach a decision on charges ahead of the tenth anniversary of the fire on June 14, 2027.
But the CPS has admitted that it is difficult to see any trials kicking off before 2029.
Potential offences under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety breaches, and misconduct in public office.
Today, bereaved relatives and survivors met the news with ‘grief and determination’, saying they have already faced an unacceptably long wait for justice.
Grenfell victims still face years of waiting before any criminal trials are held over the blaze, despite police seeking to bring charges against 57 individuals and 20 companies
Firemen tackle the huge fire that engulfed Grenfell Tower in the early hours of June 14, 2017
Investigators are having to build a replica of several floors of the tower for use in potential court proceedings as the actual tower will have been demolished by the time of any criminal trials.
Mr Moncrieff said: ‘We have gathered strong evidence and that evidence is sufficient that we will be submitting files to the Crown Prosecution Service for them to make charging decisions.’
He acknowledged that the public inquiry had ‘slowed us down slightly’, adding it has taken ‘a long time to get here’ due to the scale of the investigation which has involved 165 million electronic files and taken 14,400 statements.
The Grenfell Inquiry found that the disaster was preceded by ‘decades of failure’ by governments and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials used in high-rise buildings.
It also found victims, the bereaved and survivors were failed through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.
The Met has looked at the role of 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations in the largest and most complex inquiry the force has ever carried out.
Mr Moncrieff added: ‘It’s really important that we do it in the most professional and diligent investigation possible to enable that justice is done.’
So far, 15 out of 20 files have been passed to the CPS for advice.
People take part in a silent march in west London last year to call for justice for those killed
A spokesman for Grenfell United, which represents some of the families bereaved by the disaster and survivors, said: ‘Today’s update from the Metropolitan Police marks an important step in a process that has already taken far too long.
‘Nearly ten years after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 people, bereaved families, survivors and residents are being told that files will begin to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in September 2026, with charging decisions expected before the 10th anniversary.
‘For our community, this is not news we meet with celebration. We meet it with caution, grief and determination. We have waited almost a decade for accountability.
‘No family should have to wait over ten years for justice for their loved ones, if it comes at all.
‘The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry laid bare the shocking failures, dishonesty and disregard for human life that led to the fire. Grenfell was not a tragedy without cause.
‘Those responsible must now be held to account.
‘But after waiting nearly ten years, our community cannot be expected to endure years more of delay.
‘The Ministry of Justice and the Government must ensure the courts are properly resourced so that any prosecutions linked to Grenfell are heard swiftly.
‘Justice delayed any further would be unacceptable.’
A spokesman for the Grenfell Next of Kin group, which represents some of the bereaved, said: ‘The latest timeline by the Met will bring little comfort to us when we still do not have the answers we deserve.’