Prosecutors receive Grenfell files on 54 people and 20 organisations

The Metropolitan Police has sent Grenfell investigation files concerning 54 individuals and 20 organisations to the Crown Prosecution Service after a nine-year investigation. The Grenfell fire claimed the lives of 72 people.

The CPS says its prosecutors are independently reviewing the evidence submitted by the Met. It says it remains confident it can meet its aim of completing its review and making charging decisions before the tenth anniversary of the fire, on 14 June 2027. In making charging decisions, the CPS will consider whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether bringing charges is in the public interest.

Police have asked the CPS to consider the following potential charge categories. Referring files and identifying potential categories do not amount to charges against every individual or organisation in the files.

• Corporate manslaughter
• Gross negligence manslaughter
• Health and safety offences
• Fraud-related offences
• Misconduct in public office

The potential offences under consideration come as Grenfell United says families have waited more than nine years without anyone being held criminally accountable. The group says those responsible should face justice and that people found guilty of crimes that caused deaths should be imprisoned; it says imprisonment of those found guilty would show that there are real consequences for what happened at Grenfell.

The Met’s Kevin Southworth said the investigation’s exceptional scale and complexity meant it had to take nine years. Citing the numerous organisations involved, he said the work needed to be meticulous so police could present prosecutors with the best possible evidence. The Met says Operation Northleigh ran in parallel with the public inquiry into the disaster, and that detectives waited for the inquiry to publish its findings before completing their work.

Public bodies under scrutiny

Kensington and Chelsea Council says the Met referred it to the CPS over alleged corporate manslaughter, health and safety and fire-safety offences. The council said it accepted its failings and remained committed to candour, openness and accountability.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has confirmed that a file concerning a potential breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was referred to prosecutors. Rayner says the Grenfell inquiry exposed profound failures in the building-safety system, and that confidence can only be rebuilt through sustained action and visible change.

According to the BBC, the department has Crown Immunity and cannot be criminally prosecuted. The BBC says it could instead face a Crown Censure over the potential health and safety breach.

The London Fire Brigade has also been notified that a file concerning the service was sent to prosecutors. The brigade says it accepted the Grenfell inquiry’s findings and implemented recommendations from both phases of the inquiry.

Possible next steps

The Guardian editorial board says the Met has warned that trials are unlikely to begin before 2028. Separately, the Evening Standard reports that trials are not expected to begin before 2029.

In anticipation of potential court proceedings, police are building scale replica sections of Grenfell Tower at a cost of about £2 million ($2.64 million).

The Guardian editorial board has called on the government and judiciary to speed up the next stages of the process, arguing that trials may still be years away. It says corporate manslaughter cases are difficult because gross negligence and a substantial management role must be proved. The board also urges ministers to consider legal and institutional reforms beyond criminal trials, including punitive damages and an independent body to monitor recommendations. It argues that accepting recommendations without implementing them harms people affected by tragedies and undermines public trust in the system’s ability to put things right.

For now, the files remain under independent review by CPS prosecutors.