Revealed: First organisations to face charges over Grenfell Tower fire nine years after fire

Scotland Yard has passed 20 files of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service over the Grenfell Tower fire.They leave 54 people and 20 organisations facing charges over the blaze in North Kensington, west London, nine years ago.Potential offences include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and fraud-related offences, and misconduct in public office.The CPS will now independently review the evidence, and they will decide whether to bring charges over the fire that claimed the lives of 72 people.A public inquiry concluded that all of the deaths were avoidable, with tower residents having been “badly failed” by authorities “in most cases through incompetence but in some cases through dishonesty and greed”. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said charging decisions will be made before the 10th anniversary of the disaster, which falls on June 14 2027.Some organisations have revealed they have been referred to potentially face charges.Kensington and Chelsea CouncilThe local authority revealed it had been referred by the Met Police to the CPS over the offences including corporate manslaughter.It said it was also facing charges over Section 3 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and Contrary to the Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order 2005. Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: “This is a significant moment for all bereaved family members, survivors, residents and all those affected by Grenfell. Our thoughts remain first and foremost with them and the 72 people who lost their lives. We hope that the legal process gives people the answers they seek.“We have accepted the Council’s failings, and our commitment to candour, openness, and accountability has not changed. We will continue our focus on meeting the commitments we made following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.Read More“The Council has cooperated fully with the Metropolitan Police investigation, just as we fully cooperated throughout the separate Grenfell Tower Inquiry which concluded in 2024, and we will continue to provide any information or assistance asked of us.”Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government A file relating to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been referred to the CPS in relation to a potential breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has said.Ms Rayner, who confirmed the department she now heads up was notified in 2023 that it was under investigation, said: “I recognise the significance and gravity of this development, and we will respond with the appropriate and necessary diligence and care.”She said the Grenfell Tower Inquiry had “exposed profound failures in the building safety system”, adding that she recognised “confidence will only be rebuilt through sustained action and visible change”.The Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report, published in September 2024, laid out in damning detail how those in positions of responsibility had not heeded or acted on warnings from earlier fires.It said that by 2016, a year before the fire, the government was “well aware” of the risks of using combustible cladding panels and insulation, particularly in high-rise buildings, “but failed to act on what it knew”.A drive within government, years before the fire, for deregulation, meant concerns about the safety of life had been “ignored, delayed or disregarded”, the report said, despite the deadly Lakanal House fire which killed six people in 2009.