Grenfell police files sent to CPS seeking charges against 20 companies and 54 people
Police have sent evidence files to the Crown Prosecution Service seeking possible charges over the Grenfell Tower fire against 20 companies and 54 individuals.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Police have handed their Grenfell Tower investigation files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), asking prosecutors to decide whether to bring criminal charges over the 2017 fire that killed 72 people. The Metropolitan Police said the files concern 20 companies and organisations and 54 individuals.
The possible offences include corporate manslaughter for companies and organisations, gross negligence manslaughter for individuals, health and safety offences, fraud, and misconduct in public office. The Met described the move as a milestone in its biggest ever investigation. It does not guarantee charges. The CPS must decide whether there is enough evidence to prosecute.
The tower was a crime scene for 14 months and has since been dismantled. Investigators have examined debris in a warehouse, commissioned laboratory tests, interviewed thousands of people and examined hundreds of organisations, along with 45,000 pages of documents, exhibits and images. Police have not publicly named most of those referred, but it has emerged that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is one of the organisations involved. The housing secretary, Angela Rayner, confirmed the department had been referred and said she recognised the gravity of the development. Reports also name Kensington and Chelsea Council as facing possible corporate manslaughter and the government housing department as facing a potential health and safety breach.
The CPS has promised charging decisions before the tenth anniversary of the fire next June. If charges are brought, trials may not start before 2028 and could take longer because of the number of people and organisations involved. A public inquiry previously concluded the disaster was avoidable and the result of decades of failures across government and industry. There has still been no criminal prosecution.
Survivors and bereaved families gave a mixed response. Emma O'Connor, who escaped from the 20th floor, said the police move was possibly a milestone, but added: 'for me, the milestone will be actually getting court dates.' Another survivor said it was disheartening that ten years could pass without anyone appearing in court. Grenfell United said families had waited long enough and that those responsible should face justice and be jailed if convicted. The Prime Minister said the process had taken too long but that this was not a criticism of the police.
The development came on the day new rules took effect for assessing the fire risk from flammable cladding, which was a major reason the fire spread. Thousands of tower blocks are still waiting to have dangerous cladding replaced. The government said the updated rules would bring clarity, consistency and speed. Cladding campaigners said even a tolerable risk was unacceptable and that blocks should be repaired to meet building regulations in place when they were built. One leaseholder, Natasha Parcell, said she felt punished for buying her home and questioned how her life had become a tolerable risk. Nearly 3,000 tower blocks still need fixing.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC One | Channel 4 | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police in London submitted case files about the Grenfell Tower fire to prosecutors. | ||||
| The Grenfell Tower case files involve 20 companies and 54 individuals. | · | |||
| 72 people died in the June 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. | · | · | ||
| The CPS decision on Grenfell charges is expected next year and has been promised before the 10th anniversary of the fire in June. | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Channel 4 gave the story a brief straight news summary. It listed the referral, the death toll and the range of possible charges, without survivor reaction, investigation detail or timeline. Its coverage was tightly packaged alongside unrelated international and business news.
- “Detectors investigating the Grenfell Tower disaster have submitted case files of evidence to prosecutors involving 20 companies and 54 individuals.”
- “Police said they were asking the CPS to consider charges, including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence, manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud, and misconduct in public office.”
5 treated the referral as breaking news at lunchtime and returned to it in its evening programme with a live report from the tower site. Its later coverage added the government department referral, the likely trial timeline and a survivor's frustration that a decade could pass without court dates.
- “In the last hour, police in London say they have sent files on the Grenfell Tower fire to prosecutors.”
- “the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is one of those organisations.”
- “it could mean that a trial or trials won't start before 2028. And it could be even later than that”
BBC ONE West devoted the most space to the mechanics of the investigation. Its correspondent stressed that the CPS decision could take months and that charges are not guaranteed, while its later bulletin paired the Grenfell files with the new cladding rules and the slow remediation of unsafe blocks.
- “Yes, it's a big milestone. It's the police saying we think there's enough evidence to charge potentially 20 companies and organisations and or 54 individuals”
- “What the CPS will have to decide is whether there's enough evidence to prosecute and that is a decision which we're expecting could take some months”
- “It comes on the day new rules come into effect to assess the fire risk posed by flammable cladding, the major reason the fire spread at Grenfell.”
ITV1 returned to the story across lunchtime, evening and late bulletins. It foregrounded the human cost and the wait for justice, using the same survivor reaction in multiple programmes, and named Kensington and Chelsea Council and the government housing department among those referred.
- “Dozens of individuals and businesses could face criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire.”
- “It's possibly a milestone moment in people's eyes. But for me, the milestone will be actually getting court dates.”
- “Among those referred are Kensington and Chelsea Council over possible corporate manslaughter and the government's housing department over a potential health and safety breach.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 18:25 BST
Natasha Parcell, victim of the cladding crisis
“Now I feel like I've been punished for getting onto the housing ladder so early.”
BBC News · Wed 30 Sept - 18:26 BST
- 13:42 BST
Emma O'Connor, escaped the 20th floor of the tower on the night of the fire
“Emma O'Connor, who escaped the 20th floor of the tower on the night of the fire, gave us her reaction.”
ITV Lunchtime News · Wed 30 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.