Nine years after the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, the Metropolitan Police has submitted all files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to allow it to make charging decisions relating to the fire.
The Met said 20 companies and organisations and 54 individuals have been identified as suspects for criminal offences including 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 the charging decisions before the tenth anniversary of the fire in June 2027.
“This is a milestone moment in the police investigation into this devastating tragedy which took the lives of 72 people,” said deputy assistant commissioner Kevin Southworth.
“Our dedicated team of 220 investigators has worked incredibly hard to honour our commitment to the bereaved, survivors, residents and all those affected by the fire to meet this timescale.
“We appreciate, of course, it has taken nine years to get to this point. 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.
“While we know this has had a significant impact on those waiting for answers, it has necessarily taken this long to ensure our investigation is meticulous and presents the very best possible evidence to the CPS for charging decisions.”
‘Immense’ investigation
The Met called the scale of its investigation “immense”.
Investigators examined the roles of more than 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations involved in Grenfell Tower.
The word count of the Met’s summary reports alone to the CPS exceeds four million, over 12,600 pages, referencing more than 45,000 documents, images and exhibits.
Police gathered 165 million electronic files to search for evidence and took 14,700 statements. Some 27,000 exhibits, including cladding, insulation, doors, windows and other parts of the building – down to screws, nuts and bolts – remain stored in a secure warehouse.
Grenfell Tower itself was held by police as a crime scene for 14 months.
Throughout, investigators have liaised with the CPS for guidance in submitting evidence to assist with charging decisions.
The Met has launched a Grenfell Tower investigation website to keep all those affected updated.
