The Metropolitan Police announced Tuesday that up to 57 individuals and 20 companies could face criminal charges in connection with the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in west London on June 14, 2017.
Potential offenses under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety breaches and misconduct in public office. The force said it would submit evidence files to the Crown Prosecution Service by the end of September this year, but a final decision on whether to bring charges could take until June 2027, nearly a decade after the disaster.
The announcement came out of Operation Northleigh, a 150-million-pound investigation that has examined the actions of 15,000 people across 700 organizations and is described as the largest and most complex investigation ever carried out by the Metropolitan Police.
Garry Moncrieff of the Metropolitan Police told reporters at a Scotland Yard briefing that the final number of people and organizations being considered for charge was "not expected to vary a lot" when the full submissions are made in September. He said officers had gathered extensive material over several years. "We have gathered strong evidence," Moncrieff said, adding: "It is important that we do it once and do it right."
The Met chose to wait for the results of a public inquiry before pursuing potential criminal charges. That inquiry began in 2017 and concluded in 2024, and found the fire was caused by a chain of failures by governments, companies described as "dishonest" and shortcomings in the fire service. Moncrieff acknowledged the inquiry added time to the investigation but said it had not damaged it.
A spokesman for Grenfell United, which represents some of the bereaved families and survivors, called the development "an important step in a process that has already taken far too long." The group added: "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."
Jackie Leger and Bernie Bernard, the sisters of Raymond "Moses" Bernard, who died in the fire, said they hoped to see charges brought against those responsible at the highest levels. Bernard told the BBC: "The decision makers need to be brought to justice, not middle management, not lower management, but the people that made the decisions need to take responsibility for what happened at Grenfell."
Grenfell United also called on the Ministry of Justice and the government to ensure courts are properly resourced so that any prosecutions linked to Grenfell can be heard quickly. If the CPS decides to prosecute, any trials are unlikely to begin before 2029.
