THE Metropolitan Police has asked the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider various charges including corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter in relation to the Grenfell Tower Fire.
All files have now been submitted by the police force to the CPS to allow it to make a charging decision in relation to the 2017 fire, which resulted in 72 deaths.
The 20 files relate to 20 companies and organisations and 54 individuals. The Met has asked the CPS to consider charges 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.
Deputy assistant commissioner Kevin Southworth said, “This is a milestone moment in the police investigation into this devastating tragedy which took the lives of 72 people.
“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.”
The Met revealed the investigation involved more than 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations involved in Grenfell Tower being examined. Careful gathering and analysis of the evidence has led to 54 people and 20 organisations being identified as suspects for the criminal offences referred to the CPS.
As well as the 20 files, the submission to the CPS also includes 14 overarching evidence files. 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.
A total of 14,700 statements have been taken. More than 27,000 exhibits, including cladding, insulation, doors, windows and other parts of the building, down to screws, nut and bolts, remain stored in a secure warehouse.
