Investigators inch closer to belated justice for London apartment fire that killed 72

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — British police have sent their final investigation files on the Grenfell Tower fire to prosecutors, seeking charges against 54 people and 20 companies and organizations over the 2017 disaster that killed 72 people.The Metropolitan Police said Wednesday that it had submitted 20 files to the Crown Prosecution Service, the independent agency that decides whether criminal charges should be brought in England and Wales.The proposed charges include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offenses, fraud and related offenses and misconduct in public office.The Crown Prosecution Service said it will make its charging decisions before the 10th anniversary of the fire on June 14, 2027.“This is a milestone moment in the police investigation into this devastating tragedy which took the lives of 72 people,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth said.The submission marks the end of a nine-year police investigation that examined the actions of more than 15,000 people and 700 organizations.Investigators took 14,700 statements and gathered 165 million electronic files, more than 45,000 documents, images and exhibits, and more than 27,000 physical exhibits.Police said their summary reports to prosecutors run to more than 4 million words across 12,600 pages.How the fire rapidly spreadThe fire began shortly after midnight on June 14, 2017, from a refrigerator in a fourth-floor apartment at the 24-story tower in North Kensington, west London.Flames escaped the apartment and reached the building’s exterior.A 2024 public inquiry found that the disaster was avoidable and identified failures across the government, construction and building management sectors.It concluded that combustible exterior cladding was the principal reason the fire spread so rapidly.The aluminum material panels contained polyethylene that melted and burned, allowing flames to race up, around and down the building.Combustible insulation behind the panels also contributed to the spread.The inquiry found “the deaths that occurred were all avoidable” and that Grenfell residents “were badly failed over a number of years” by those responsible for their safety.It found the fire was the result of “decades of failure” by the government and others in the construction industry to properly investigate the dangers of combustible materials in high-rise buildings and act on information available to them.The report also found “systematic dishonesty” among some manufacturers and suppliers, including deliberate efforts to “manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent test data and mislead the market.”Grenfell Tower stood in one of the most unequal parts of one of Britain’s wealthiest local authorities.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea includes some of London’s most expensive neighborhoods, while North Kensington contains areas of significant deprivation.Most Grenfell residents were social housing tenants.The inquiry found serious failures in the relationship between the council’s housing management organization and Grenfell residents, including a breakdown of trust and failures to treat residents with respect.The police investigation ran alongside the public inquiry.Detectives waited for the inquiry’s findings before completing their work, allowing them to examine its detailed conclusions and cross-reference them with their own evidence.Families and survivors’ nine-year waitGrenfell United, a group representing bereaved families and survivors, said the nine-year wait had been difficult.“No family should have to fight this hard, for this long, for justice,” the group said. “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.”Joe Powell, the member of Parliament for Kensington and Bayswater, welcomed the submission but said bereaved families and survivors had “already waited an agonizing 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,” Powell said.The police held Grenfell Tower as a crime scene for 14 months.Forensic teams searched every apartment and communal area, examining about 15 tons of debris on each floor.The evidence remains stored at a secure warehouse, including pieces of the building’s cladding, insulation, doors and windows.The Metropolitan Police said its investigation involved a team of 220 investigators.Southworth said the scale of the work meant it had taken nine years to reach the point where prosecutors could begin considering charges.“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,” he said.The Crown Prosecution Service must now assess the evidence and decide whether there is sufficient basis to bring criminal proceedings.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads