Prosecutors Asked to Consider Manslaughter Charges Over Grenfell Fire

Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire have submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, paving the way for potential criminal charges.

The Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the fire in North Kensington has identified 54 individuals and 20 companies and organisations. The CPS will now consider whether to move forward with prosecution.

The offences include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety offences, as well as misconduct in public office.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), the council responsible for Grenfell, is among the organisations facing criminal charges.

Almost a decade after the fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people on 14 June 2017, no charges have been brought.

The files submitted today cover all but three of the individuals the Met had said it had identified as being potentially criminally responsible back in May.

The CPS has said it is committed to making a decision regarding charges ahead of the 10th anniversary of the fire next year, with trials unlikely to begin before 2029.

As part of its investigation, the police looked into more than 15,000 people and 700 organisations, took 14,700 statements and gathered 165 million electronic files and more than 27,000 physical exhibits.

The Met’s investigation ran alongside the public inquiry, whose final report in 2024 found that the disaster was avoidable and exposed decades of failures involving government, regulators and companies involved in the tower’s refurbishment.

But for bereaved families and survivors, the wait for criminal accountability has been agonising.

“No family should have to fight this hard, for this long, for justice,” said Grenfell United, which represents bereaved families and survivors.

“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.”