Grenfell fire police investigators pass files on 20 firms and 54 people to prosecutors

Files of evidence relating to 54 individuals and 20 companies have been submitted to prosecutors by detectives investigating the Grenfell fire, the Metropolitan Police said.

The June 2017 blaze in North Kensington, west London, claimed 72 lives and was subsequently determined by a public inquiry to have been avoidable.

Offences under consideration include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety breaches, misconduct in public office, alongside fraud and fraud-related offences.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that charging decisions will be reached before the tenth anniversary of the disaster, which falls on June 14 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.”

Investigators have looked at the role of more than 15,000 people and 700 organisations as part of the mammoth inquiry, and have submitted 12,600 pages of evidence to the CPS.

A total of 14,700 statements have been taken and more than 27,000 exhibits, including cladding, insulation, doors, windows and other parts of the building, down to screws, nuts and bolts, are stored in a secure warehouse.

Scale replica parts of the tower are being built at a cost of £2 million in anticipation of potential court proceedings.

The public inquiry into the deadly blaze found that it had been preceded by “decades of failure” by governments and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

It also found victims, the bereaved and survivors were “badly failed” through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.

The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms which made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said in his final report in 2024.

He also condemned the “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.