The bereaved and survivors of Grenfell Tower must wait until at least 2027 – a decade after the blaze that killed 72 people – before those suspected of being responsible for the disaster could face criminal trials, it has emerged.
Families described the news as “shocking” and called the wait for charges for people to be held accountable for their crimes “unbearable”.
In a briefing ahead of the seventh anniversary of the fire, Stuart Cundy, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, admitted it was an “incredible timeline” but said: “We have just one chance to get it right” and insisted it wasn’t “justice denied”.
It amounts to a more than four-year delay on an earlier expected timetable and comes because the police say they must take into account the final report of the public inquiry, which could take 18 months.
Even Cundy said he had not expected the criminal justice process to take so long.
A statement from Grenfell United, a group of bereaved and survivors, said: “10 years until we see justice”. It continued: “10 years until we see prosecutions. 10 years until those responsible for the murders of 72 people are held to account for their crimes. This should be shocking for everyone, but for us, we live our lives on hold while those responsible walk free.”
The public inquiry has yet to set a date for publication but it will be after the seventh anniversary of the fire, which is next month.
The police also revealed that 58 individuals and 19 companies and organisations are suspects, with potential charges now including misconduct in public office, indicating that local and national government politicians and officials could face trial.
Detectives declined to name individual suspects but said other possible crimes also include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and perverting the course of justice.
They also confirmed explicitly that they believe that the deaths caused by the fire were the result of criminal acts.
The announcement of the updated timetable came as some of the bereaved and survivors said they have given up on the police investigation.
Nabil Choucair, who lost six members of his family, said: “I have given up on the police. I got fed up with them not doing something when they should have done something a long time ago.
“Everyone that commits a crime in this country is dealt with apart from Grenfell, where the people are all part of the system and their rights are protected by the government. And because the government has blame attached to it, they are slow to put the blame on others.”
In September 2020, Scotland Yard had said it anticipated it would submit case files to the Crown Prosecution Service in the latter part of 2021, but that will now not happen until 12 to 18 months after the separate public inquiry publishes its final report, which is not expected until later this year.
Det Supt Garry Moncrieff, who is the senior investigating officer, tried to quell fears about the pace of the process, saying: “There hasn’t been any loss of momentum. It is a long time, but it is a really complex and really important investigation”.
Rosemary Ainslie, head of special crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, said “we do not underestimate the impact” that such a long investigation is taking on the families affected by the disaster. But she assured the public: “the array of files we have seen from the police have been of a very high standard”.
The police have been pursuing 27,000 separate lines of inquiry in an investigation involving 180 full-time officers which has cost, so far, £107m.
More than 150m files and documents have been gathered and 12,000 witness statements have been taken. Some of the files, which have already been shared with the CPS, stand seven feet high.
Antonio Roncolato, who lived in Grenfell for 27 years and was trapped on the 10th floor before he was rescued, said: “They say we have to be patient, it’s a complicated investigation and they have to get it right.
“I really pray and hope and put my faith that these guys can bring strong cases to the CPS, that they will bring them to court and that before too long, before I die, we will see justice.”
