Police refer Grenfell Tower case to prosecutors seeking charges against 54 people

London’s Metropolitan Police has submitted its final investigation file on the Grenfell Tower fire to the Crown Prosecution Service, seeking charges against 54 individuals and 20 companies. The proposed offences include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and fraud-related offences, and misconduct in public office. The fire killed 72 people at the residential tower in North Kensington, west London.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said it had been referred to the CPS for three offences: corporate manslaughter, an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and acting contrary to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The CPS said prosecutors would make charging decisions before the disaster’s 10th anniversary on June 14, 2027. It will independently assess whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether bringing charges is in the public interest.

The referral follows a public inquiry report published in 2024, which found that the fire was avoidable and described a chain of failures involving government and private-sector actors. Police said their investigation examined the actions of 15,000 people across 700 organisations or companies. Detectives took 14,700 statements and examined 45,000 documents, images and exhibits.

The files sent to prosecutors include reports totalling more than two million words. A team of 220 investigators worked on the case, which police described as one of the most complex investigations undertaken by a UK law-enforcement agency. Grenfell United said families and survivors had waited more than nine years for justice.

Survivor Emma O’Connor said criminal charges would represent justice for some families but said her own priority was the removal of dangerous cladding. The CPS has not yet announced charging decisions.