No Grenfell Tower criminal charges for ‘at least’ 12-18 months, Met Police say

The Metropolitan Police will not bring criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire for “at least” another 12-18 months, the force has confirmed on the morning the final report into the tragedy is published.

Met Police deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said the force would examine the “direct, comprehensive” report, but could not simply use its findings as a blueprint for criminal charges.

It is confirmation of what the Met had already made known – that families and survivors will likely have to wait until 10 years after the fire before anybody appears in court.

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“To secure justice for those who died and all those affected by the fire we must examine the report – line by line – alongside the evidence from the criminal investigation. As I said previously, this will take us at least 12-18 months,” said Cundy.

“I can’t pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on the bereaved and survivors, but we have one chance to get our investigation right.”

The force had previously said no prosecutions would begin before late 2026, as it works on an investigation in parallel to the report which included gathering 27,000 pieces of evidence. In May 2024, Cundy described the probe as “one of the largest and most complex investigations ever undertaken by the Met”.

The Grenfell Inquiry published its final phase two report on Wednesday (4 September) morning, over seven years after the fire, examining the causes of the blaze.

While the 2017 tragedy, which killed 72 people, has led to legislation and changes in building safety rules, those affected by the fire complain justice is being delayed.

Back in 2022, then-housing secretary Michael Gove confirmed exclusively to the Big Issue that the government would help Grenfell survivors bring criminal proceeding against those responsible for the fire.

“I will do everything to help the police and the CPS and the bereaved and the survivors to go after the people responsible,” said Gove. “Because to my mind, and I hope I’m not prejudicing anything, there’s a clear case that people behaved in a way that was so incredibly reckless and selfish that they deserve to face criminal proceedings.”

The release of the final report is a chance for Labour to make the same commitment.

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