CRIMINAL charges may never be brought over the Grenfell Tower disaster, a police chief warned on Monday. Met Commander Stuart Cundy said there was no guarantee of any prosecutions emerging from the criminal investigation into the tragedy two years ago. The police chief promised survivors and relatives of the 72 victims that cops would fearlessly […]
CRIMINAL charges may never be brought over the Grenfell Tower disaster, a police chief warned on Monday.
Met Commander Stuart Cundy said there was no guarantee of any prosecutions emerging from the criminal investigation into the tragedy two years ago.
The police chief promised survivors and relatives of the 72 victims that cops would fearlessly investigate and present all the evidence to the CPS.
Cdr Cundy said the feelings of bereaved families had been at the heart of the police investigation since its outset.
However, he admitted: ‘’There is no guarantee we can give that there will be criminal charges.
‘’But we can guarantee this investigation will be fearless and put all the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.’’
In any event, the police file will not be ready to be sent to Crown prosecutors until 2022 at the earliest, it was revealed.
It means any potential trial will not take place until at least 2023, six years after the disaster on 14 June 2017.
Speaking ahead of the second anniversary of the blaze this Friday, Cdr Cundy revealed police have seized 45 million emails and electronic documents.
The ‘’huge’’ number of digital documents are being analysed by a squad of 180 officers and support staff on the Operation Northleigh probe into the disaster.
Cops say they will not be in a position to complete their report until the Grenfell Tower public judicial inquiry report, being run parallel to the police investigation, is completed.
The second phase of the public inquiry is not due to start until the beginning of next year.
Det Supt Matt Banner, senior investigating officer of the Met probe, said: ‘’Our own judgement is there won’t be a final report from the public inquiry until 2021, and possibly 2022.
‘’The earliest we could send a file to the CPS is then and we would still have to consider the report.
‘’If we decided there were charges which could brought, the CPS would still then have to consider the advice.’’
The £4.2 million additional policing costs of the probe are being met by by the Home Office with a special grant.
It is focused on the structure, refurbishment and management of the 24-storey block in North Kensington, West London, and the emergency response on the night of the disaster.
It is understood advice to residents from the fire brigade to stay put, as the fire spread upwards via combustible external cladding from a blaze started by a faulty fridge, is being considered by cops.
Outlining the huge scale of the investigation, Det Supt Bonner said police have 14,500 exhibits and taken statements from 7,100 witnesses.
Thirteen people have been questioned under caution but there have been no arrests or searches carried out with a warrant, he said.
Potential offences being considered by police include manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and breach of health and safety laws.
Separately, the Grenfell Squad have investigated a spate of fraud offences from ghouls trying to claim money by pretending to have been residents at the block.
Fifteen people have so far been convicted of offences totalling more than £700,000 and jailed for over 60 years in total.
