The Metropolitan Police have handed their final investigation file on the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire to the CPS, seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies. The probe examined huge volumes of evidence and ran alongside a 2024 public inquiry that found the fire avoidable. The CPS aims to reach charging decisions before the 10th anniversary of the disaster on 14 June 2027. Families and campaign groups say justice has been delayed and will scrutinise the CPS's next steps.
Met Submits Final Grenfell Investigation File to CPS — Charges Sought Against 54 People and 20 Companies
The fire in June 2017 killed 72 people [BBC]
The Metropolitan Police have delivered their final investigation file into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies over a blaze that killed 72 people.
Offences Under Consideration
The alleged offences under review include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety breaches, fraud and fraud-related offences, and misconduct in public office. The CPS will now assess whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether prosecutions would be in the public interest.
Scale and Complexity of the Investigation
The Met described the probe — known as Operation Northleigh — as one of the "most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency." Detectives examined evidence gathered from the 14-month crime scene, commissioned laboratory tests, and analysed thousands of items recovered from the building, including the fridge from the fourth-floor flat where the fire began.
Investigators reviewed the actions of around 15,000 people connected to some 700 organisations or companies, took roughly 14,700 witness statements and examined about 45,000 documents, images and exhibits. The material sent to the CPS includes examples of physical evidence and reports running to more than two million words. Much of the evidence has been kept in secure, undisclosed storage.
Campaign groups have said the process has taken too long [BBC]
Public Inquiry and Families' Concerns
A public inquiry published in 2024 concluded the fire was avoidable and detailed a chain of failures across government and the private sector that led to the disaster. The criminal probe ran in parallel with that inquiry, and detectives delayed finalising their file until they could consider the inquiry's often highly technical findings.
Representing bereaved families and survivors, Grenfell United said no family should have to fight for justice for so long and urged that those responsible be held to account.
Joe Powell, MP for Kensington and Bayswater, welcomed the submission but said families and survivors have already waited "an agonising nine years" for justice and called for prosecutions to proceed without further delay.
Next Steps
The CPS has said it expects to reach charging decisions before the 10th anniversary of the disaster on 14 June 2027. In preparation for possible trials, the Met is constructing a replica of a section of Grenfell Tower — which is currently being dismantled — to help future jurors visualise the building's layout.
As the CPS considers the material, campaign groups and bereaved families will be watching closely for decisions that could lead to criminal charges and, potentially, trials that aim to establish accountability for one of modern Britain's deadliest residential fires.
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