A decision will be made on whether criminal charges will be brought over the Grenfell fire before the 10th anniversary of the disaster next summer, police have said.
Bereaved relatives and survivors met the news with “caution, grief and determination”, saying they have already faced an unacceptably long wait for justice.
In an update at New Scotland Yard on Tuesday, the Met Police said that files of evidence will be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by September 30 this year, with charging decisions before June 14 2027.
So far, 15 out of 20 files have been passed to the CPS for advice.
The force said that 57 individuals and 20 organisations are suspects for criminal offences. So far, one person has been arrested and released under investigation.
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
Police said 165 million electronic files had been gathered and searched for evidence, while 14,400 statements have been taken.
The Met has looked at the role of 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations relevant to the investigation in what is the largest and most complex inquiry the force has ever carried out.
The blaze in June 2017 claimed the lives of 72 people and was found by a public inquiry to have been avoidable.
Speaking at New Scotland Yard on Tuesday, the officer in overall command of the investigation, Garry Moncrieff, who has stayed with the investigation despite retiring as a police officer, said offences under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and health and safety breaches.
Misconduct in public office is also being considered as part of potential criminal charges.
Frank Ferguson, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said he is confident charging decisions will be made before the 10th anniversary of the fire.
He said: “We do not underestimate the impact that such a lengthy investigation has had and continues to have on the bereaved, survivors and the residents.”
Mr Ferguson said it is difficult to see any court cases taking place before 2029, but that the court service is aware of the need to make potential contingency plans.
He would not be drawn on how likely it is that charges will be brought, but investigators are building scale replica parts of the tower at a cost of £2 million in anticipation of potential court proceedings.
Moncrieff said that forensic investigators spent 14 months at the tower itself gathering evidence and have sifted through information linked to hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals, as well as going through details from the public inquiry.
“It is important that we do it once and do it right,” he said.
While Mr Moncrieff would not be drawn on whether he feels there should be charges brought, he said: “What I can say is that we have gathered strong evidence and that evidence is sufficient that we will be submitting files to the Crown Prosecution Service for them to make charging decisions.”
He added that while the public inquiry had “slowed us down slightly”, it had not “held back anything we’ve done”.
A spokesman for Grenfell United, which represents some of the families bereaved by the disaster and survivors, called for no further delay.
The group said: “Today’s update from the Metropolitan Police marks an important step in a process that has already taken far too long.
“Nearly 10 years after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 people, bereaved families, survivors and residents are being told that files will begin to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in September 2026, with charging decisions expected before the tenth anniversary.
“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.
“No family should have to wait over 10 years for justice for their loved ones, if it comes at all.
“The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry laid bare the shocking failures, dishonesty and disregard for human life that led to the fire. Grenfell was not a tragedy without cause.
“Those responsible must now be held to account.
“But after waiting nearly 10 years, our community cannot be expected to endure years more of delay.
“The Ministry of Justice and the Government must ensure the courts are properly resourced so that any prosecutions linked to Grenfell are heard swiftly.
“Justice delayed any further would be unacceptable.”
The Grenfell Inquiry found that the disaster was preceded by “decades of failure” by governments and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.
It also found victims, the bereaved and survivors were “badly failed” through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.
The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms which made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said in his final report in 2024.
He also condemned the “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.
So far, the police investigation into the fire has cost £150 million, with a team of 220 officers and staff working on the inquiry, and a specialist team of 20 staff at the Crown Prosecution Service.
