Police investigating Grenfell fire say trials will not begin until at least mid-2027

Stuart Cundy, deputy assistant commissioner, said the police needed until the end of 2025 to finalise their investigation, which would then be passed on to the CPS to press charges.

Mr Cundy explained that the police were still in a “case-building phase”, and that they had already submitted eight of 20 early investigation reports to the CPS.

A typical case file is over 500 pages long, with an additional 17,000 pages of evidence.

The Metropolitan Police is legally required to wait for the publication of the second part of the Grenfell public inquiry, set for later this year, before they pass their investigation on to prosecutors.

However, despite delays in the publication of the inquiry report, detective superintendent Garry Moncrieff said “there hasn’t been lost momentum”, adding that it was a “really complex investigation”.

“We haven’t waited for the public inquiry” to gather evidence, he said.

Mr Moncrieff said: “We know the inquiry is about to publish and it is going to be big… When the inquiry publishes, that will be the first time we’ve seen it, like anyone else.”

Mr Cundy said the police would need another 12 to 18 months from publication of the report to finalise its case for the CPS.

“I know that sounds such a long period of time,” he said, but “we as the police have one chance to get this investigation right”.

He added that the Grenfell bereaved and survivors had been informed of the police’s timeline.

The detectives outlined the mammoth scope of their task, which included over 12,000 witness statements and 300 hours of interviews pored over by 180 investigators. From their initial response on the night of the fire to March 2024, the total cost to the Met Police has been £107.3m.

Detectives have spoken to more than 50 people, but only one arrest has been made so far. A 38-year-old man was arrested in 2020, then released later.

Forensic evidence from the tower has been stored in a 635 sq m warehouse. Journalists were shown drone footage from inside the storage unit, which contained rows of cladding panels and insulation, wooden pallets filled with unburnt appliances taken from the tower, along with a replica of the fridge that ignited the blaze.

Mr Cundy said it was “unusual” to have a public inquiry and criminal investigation running at the same time, and it had “created a more complex investigation environment”, but they had been “working closely” together.

Asked if the 10-year gap between the fire and any potential trials represented some sort of justice denied, Mr Cundy said “the worst case scenario would be if we rush our investigation”, which would mean “every chance issues would arise in a criminal trial”.

Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivor group, said: “Ten years until we see justice. Ten years until we see prosecutions. Ten years until those responsible for the murders of 72 people are held to account for their crimes. This should be shocking for everyone, but for us, we live our lives on hold while those responsible walk free. 

“Seven years and we are still waiting for the Phase 2 public inquiry report. We are still waiting to hear the truth. To know who was responsible for taking our families and loved ones away from us.

“We need to see the people who perpetrated Grenfell held to account and charged for their crimes. The wait is unbearable.”

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “I understand and share the deep frustration of the bereaved, survivors, the local community and all those affected seeking justice following the appalling Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.

“The Met have today set out their ongoing work to hold those responsible to account and will leave no stone unturned in their investigation.

“This sadly still means that those impacted could be waiting up to a decade after the fatal fire to see those responsible brought to account. Justice delayed is justice denied. It’s vital that investigators and the CPS are given the resources they need for this unique investigation to progress as swiftly as possible.”

In January, bereaved families of the 72 people who died in the fire renewed their demands for justice at Grenfell Testimony Week, which they said had not yet been served.

Some also said that the evidence provided as part of the public inquiry into the fire, which completed hearings in 2022 but has not yet published its conclusions, showed a “defensive, cover-up, shift-the-blame culture” and people “running away from their responsibility”.