Up to 54 individuals and 20 companies could face criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire after the Metropolitan Police submitted its investigation files to prosecutors.
Scotland Yard confirmed that a substantial body of evidence had been handed to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The submission comprises 20 files, including 14 overarching evidence files, containing more than 12,600 pages and 45,000 documents, images and exhibits.
Police have asked the CPS to consider potential charges including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and related offences, as well as misconduct in public office.
Prosecutors are expected to make charging decisions before the 10th anniversary of the fire next summer.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth described the handover as “a milestone moment in the police investigation into this devastating tragedy”.
He said a dedicated team of 220 investigators had worked “incredibly hard” to honour the force’s commitment to bereaved families, survivors, residents and everyone affected by the blaze.
“We appreciate, of course, it has taken nine years to get to this point,” Mr Southworth said. “As we have said before, this is one of the most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency—the scale is truly enormous.”
He added that, although the wait had had a “significant impact” on those seeking answers, the time was necessary to ensure the investigation was meticulous and that the CPS received the strongest possible evidence when considering charges.
The Metropolitan Police has identified 20 companies and 54 individuals who could face criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire
Mourners light candles for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire during a memorial service marking the disaster’s ninth anniversary in June
The Met’s investigation has examined the roles of 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations, making it the largest and most complex inquiry ever conducted by the force.
Investigators said they had collected and searched 165 million electronic files for evidence and taken 14,700 witness statements.
The June 2017 fire killed 72 people. A public inquiry later concluded that the disaster could have been prevented.
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Grenfell United, which represents some survivors and bereaved families, said relatives had already waited long enough. The group urged the Met and CPS to do everything possible to move the case forward without further unnecessary delay.
“Today the Metropolitan Police has passed its Grenfell investigation files to the Crown Prosecution Service,” the group said. “It has taken more than nine years to get here. Nine years, and no one has been held criminally accountable for the deaths of our 72 loved ones.”
“The CPS must now decide whether to bring charges. We expect the Met and the CPS to do everything in their power to make sure this case moves forward without further unnecessary delay. Our families have waited long enough.”
The group said it wanted those responsible to face justice and, if convicted of crimes that led to the deaths, to be imprisoned. “Only then will people see that there are real consequences for what happened at Grenfell,” it said.
“No family should have to fight this hard, for this long, for justice,” Grenfell United added.
More than 27,000 exhibits remain in secure storage, including cladding, insulation, doors, windows and other building components—as well as smaller items such as screws, nuts and bolts.
Scale replica parts of the tower are being built at a cost of £2 million in anticipation of potential court proceedings.
A person cycles past a digital screen set up by Grenfell Next of Kin in June 2026, calling for justice for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire
People take part in a silent march in west London in memory of those killed in the tower block disaster
The Grenfell Inquiry found the disaster was preceded by ‘decades of failure’ by governments and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.
It also found victims, the bereaved and survivors were ‘badly failed’ through ‘incompetence, dishonesty and greed’.
The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the ‘systematic dishonesty’ of firms which made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said in his final report in 2024.
He also condemned the ‘deliberate and sustained’ manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.
