By Gavin Mackintosh-
The Met Police will take a year before deciding whether to prosecute anybody over the Grenfel fire, it has today been revealed.
Police are investigating potential offences including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, and health and safety offences.
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The inquiry began in 2018 and has seen the first phase published into the events of the night, but victims of the fire are disappointed with the pace of the investigation.
. The Met Police are waiting for the inquiry to conclude before they start making any arrests – meaning that Grenfell survivors have at least a year to wait before justice proceedings among those responsible begin.
In 2019, Cdr Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police gave the bereaved and survivors “an absolute personal commitment” the investigation would be “fearless”, but said no decision on charges will be made until the public inquiry is complete, at the time suggesting that charges would likely have been brought in 2021. The 2017 disaster in west London killed 72 people, including 18 children.
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With 45 million documents for police to sift through, the investigation is one of the largest and most complex in the history of the Metropolitan Police, Cdr Cundy said.
He said: “Even now coming up to the two-year anniversary there is no guarantee that we can give that there will be criminal charges.”
Instead, he offered the bereaved and survivors “our absolute personal commitment to do what we can to make sure this investigation is fearless, secures all the evidence that it can and puts that evidence before the Crown Prosecution Service”.
A spokesperson for the inquiry said : “We cannot put timings on the Phase 2 report. However, given the volume of material to deal with and the time taken to write up the Phase 1 report, at least a year may be a reasonable estimate.” Police have identified around 250 companies and organizations who hold information that is of “direct interest” to their investigation.
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said:
“Five years on from the Grenfell Tower fire the thoughts of all of us in the Met are with everyone affected, in particular those who lost loved ones, those who survived the devastating tragedy, those for whom Grenfell Tower was home.
“None of us can pretend to understand what it is like for those so deeply affected by the fire. They have my commitment that the Met remains absolutely focused on the criminal investigation, which is one of the largest and most complex investigations ever undertaken by the Met.
“Our investigation continues at pace. We have more than 180 dedicated investigators, working with international experts. They spent a year forensically examining the tower, have taken more than 9,000 witness statements and continue to work through over 130 million documents recovered from a wide range of companies and organisations who are linked to the tower, including its management and refurbishment.
“We are investigating a full range of offences including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and health and safety offences. Forty people have been interviewed under caution, many multiple times and more interviews under caution will take place.
“I recognise the frustrations of some about the significant length of this complex criminal investigation. We are in an unusual situation where our police investigation and the public inquiry are being conducted at the same time. The criminal investigation is independent of inquiry but, as we have said previously, the criminal investigation must take into account any findings or reports produced by the inquiry. Once we have fully examined the findings of the Phase 2 report we will present our evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service so they can consider charging decisions.”
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