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Met hands Grenfell fire investigation file to CPS

News imageBBC A partially demolished Grenfell tower with a wall surrounding the area which is covered in tributes and drawings. The building is covered in a wrap which features a green heart.BBC
The fire in June 2017 killed 72 people

The Metropolitan Police has submitted its final investigation file into the Grenfell Tower fire to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies.

These include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and fraud-related offences and misconduct in public office.

The Met described the case into the fire which killed 72 people at the tower block in North Kensington, west London, as one of the "most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency".

The CPS said charging decisions would be made before the 10th anniversary of the disaster, which is on 14 June 2027.

The Met said it had spent £150m on Operation Northleigh - its investigation into the fire - which has examined the actions of 15,000 people across 700 organisations.

A public inquiry report released in 2024 found the fire was avoidable and set out how a chain of failures across government and the private sector led to the disaster.

News imageA Grenfell memorial wall covered with green hearts, tributes and the number 72, with plants and flowers in front and construction work visible behind.
Campaign groups have said the process has taken too long

Grenfell United, a bereaved families and survivors group, said "no family should have to fight this hard, for this long, for justice".

"It has taken more than nine years to get here. Nine years, and no one has been held criminally accountable for the deaths of our 72 loved ones.

"We want those responsible to face justice. If people are found guilty of crimes that cost our loved ones their lives, we want to see them behind bars.

"Only then will people see that there are real consequences for what happened at Grenfell."

Joe Powell, MP for Kensington and Bayswater, welcomed the news but said bereaved families and survivors "have already waited an agonising nine years for justice".

"My position remains clear that we must do everything in our power to ensure that justice is delivered as swiftly as possible.

"I will continue working with government ministers to ensure everything is done to avoid any further delays," he added.

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