As we approach the anniversary of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, 2017, the Metropolitan Police have provided a comprehensive update on the criminal investigation, highlighting the substantial progress as they advance to more in-depth stages of their enquiries. This ongoing investigation remains a focal point for the Met, with a dedicated team working tirelessly to determine any criminal offenses and identify responsible parties.
Investigation Overview
The investigative team, comprising 180 officers and staff, has been fully committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the fire. To date, the scope of the investigation has expanded significantly:
- Suspects and Entities Under Investigation: Detectives are currently investigating 19 companies or organizations and 58 individuals as suspects.
- Early Investigative Advice: The investigative team has entered an “early investigative advice” phase with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), submitting eight out of 20 advice files thus far.
- Interviews Conducted: Over 50 suspects have been interviewed under caution, accumulating more than 300 hours of interrogation.
- Forensic Examination: Investigators have spent over a year forensically examining Grenfell Tower, including a detailed deconstruction of its exterior.
- Evidence Collection: The Met has collated more than 27,000 exhibits, stored in a 635 square meter warehouse. These exhibits include various components of the building down to screws, nuts, and bolts.
- Enquiries and Statements: More than 27,000 separate lines of enquiry have been followed, and over 12,000 witness statements have been taken.
- Document Retrieval: The investigative team has retrieved more than 152 million documents and files.
- Witness Statements from Public Inquiry: Evaluating 1,600 witness statements from the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, alongside 300 days of evidence and over 320,000 documents disclosed by the inquiry.
infographic - Source Metropolitan Police
Statements from Police Officials
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy provided insights into the emotional and logistical complexities of the investigation:
“At the heart of the police investigation are the bereaved and survivors, who have gone through so much. I can’t pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on them. Those who are most deeply affected have our commitment that we are doing all we can to get this investigation right. We owe that to those who died and all those affected by the tragedy. We are moving as quickly as we can, but we must be thorough and diligent in our investigation.”
Cundy also highlighted the unprecedented scale of this investigation:
“This is one of the largest and most complex investigations ever undertaken by the Met, the scale and legal complexity is immense. We have been working since the night of the fire to leave no stone unturned in our investigation into what happened.”
Future Steps and CPS Collaboration
The investigative team anticipates it will take until at least the end of 2025 to fully assess the forthcoming public inquiry’s Phase 2 report and prepare the final evidential files for the CPS. Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, commented on the process:
“The police anticipate sending complete files of evidence to us by 2026. There is great benefit in this case that we have been working closely with police throughout and will therefore be in a strong position to consider the final evidential files when they have been completed. However, as you will appreciate, due to the sheer volume of substantial evidence, there is still a lot of work to be done in reaching any charging decisions.”
The CPS aims to make charging decisions by the end of 2026, after a thorough review of the complex and voluminous evidence collected.
Our Closing Remarks
As the Grenfell Tower investigation progresses, the Met continues to assure the community of its dedication to uncovering the truth and achieving justice for the victims and their families. The scale of this investigation reflects the gravity of the tragedy and the commitment of law enforcement to address all aspects of the incident comprehensively.
Source- Metropolitan Police
