Police to seek criminal charges against 77 companies and people over Grenfell fire

Scotland Yard has said it hopes to bring criminal charges against 77 companies and individuals for the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died.The lead investigator, Garry Moncrieff, said his team of 220 detectives had gathered “strong evidence” of potential wrongdoing.Police said they were sending a series of files of evidence to prosecutors later this year seeking a decision on whether criminal trials should be held.The Crown Prosecution Service said it expected to make decisions on charges by June 2027, the 10th anniversary of the disaster.Police say files will be sent to the CPS seeking charging decisions about 57 individuals and 20 companies.Moncrieff said: “It’s our job to make sure that we do a fair, thorough, and comprehensive investigation, so that charging decisions can be taken, and that fairness runs throughout everything that we do.“What I can say is that we have gathered strong evidence, and that evidence is sufficient, that we will be submitting files to the Crown Prosecution Service for them to make charging decisions.”But it emerged that there was no prospect of any individual or company appearing in court until next year at the very earliest. It is more likely no trial would get before a jury until 2028, 11 years after fire tore through the west London tower block, or possibly even later.Offences being considered include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, and health and safety offences, police have said. Also under consideration is misconduct in public office but police declined to say whether that included any past or current political figures.The Met investigation is examining the causes of the fire for criminal culpability along with how the tower block came to be in such a condition that the blaze could spread so widely and quickly, with catastrophic consequences.A public inquiry by the retired judge Martin Moore-Bick into the disaster concluded in 2024. It found widespread failures in the construction industry, the council, regulators and central government. Moore-Bick said: “The simple truth is the deaths that occurred were all avoidable.”The police investigation has so far cost £150m, and a replica of the tower costing £2m will be built so any jury can understand how the building looked before flames tore through it.Grenfell United, which represents survivors and bereaved families from the fire, said: “For our community, this is not news we meet with celebration. We meet it with caution, grief and determination. We have waited almost a decade for accountability.”The Grenfell inquiry concluded in 2024 that at the heart of the tragedy was the “systematic dishonesty” of multimillion-dollar companies whose products caused the fire to spread so rapidly.Grenfell United said: “This was not a tragedy without cause. Those responsible must now be held to account. Our community cannot be expected to endure years more of delay.The group added: “The Ministry of Justice and the government must ensure the courts are properly resourced so that any prosecutions linked to Grenfell are heard swiftly. Justice delayed any further would be unacceptable.”