The Crown Prosecution Service has been asked to consider manslaughter and other criminal charges against 54 people and 20 companies and organisations over the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people.
The Metropolitan police said yesterday that it had submitted all its files to the CPS after a nine-year investigation into the fire, which broke out at the 24-storey tower in west London on 14 June 2017.
The files ask prosecutors to consider corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and fraud-related offences, and misconduct in public office. The CPS has committed to making charging decisions before the 10th anniversary of the fire in June 2027.
The investigation has examined the roles of more than 15,000 people and 700 organisations. Police have taken 14,700 statements and gathered more than 27,000 exhibits, including cladding, insulation, doors and windows. The Met said its summary reports to the CPS run to more than four million words across 12,600 pages.
Kevin Southworth, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, described the submission as a ‘milestone moment’ in the investigation. ‘We appreciate, of course, it has taken nine years to get to this point,’ he said. ‘As we have said before, this is one of the most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency – the scale is truly enormous.’
The investigation team includes 220 officers. The Met said evidence had been gathered from 165 million electronic files and that more than 27,000 physical exhibits remain in secure storage.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said prosecutors recognised the ‘enduring impact’ of the fire on bereaved families, survivors and others affected. ‘Charging decisions will be made independently by CPS prosecutors following a thorough and careful review of all the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service,’ he said. Ferguson said the CPS remained confident it would complete the process before 14 June 2027.
Grenfell United, which represents some bereaved families and survivors, said it expected the case to move forward ‘without further unnecessary delay’.
‘No family should have to fight this hard, for this long, for justice,’ the group said.
The submission follows the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September 2024. The inquiry examined the underlying causes of the fire and found failures by government, regulators and companies involved in the tower’s refurbishment. The inquiry found ‘systematic dishonesty’ by manufacturers of products used in the refurbishment, including deliberate manipulation of testing processes and attempts to mislead purchasers about the safety of combustible materials.
