On Tuesday 19 May, the Metropolitan Police announced that Operation Northleigh, its nine-year investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire, is on track to submit all charging files to the Crown Prosecution Service by the end of September 2026. The CPS is expected to make charging decisions before the tenth anniversary of the fire, which falls on 14 June 2027. The investigation has identified 57 individuals and 20 companies who will be considered for charges, including corporate and gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, and health and safety breaches. Officers sifted through 165 million electronic files and took 14,400 witness statements over nine years, making it the largest and most complex investigation Scotland Yard has ever undertaken.
The Kensington and Chelsea Labour Group of Councillors, representing the communities closest to the tower, has responded with the following statement:
“We wish first and foremost to acknowledge the additional pain caused to bereaved and survivors and to the local community by this long and extended wait for justice.
While we welcome this important update regarding today’s announcement from the Metropolitan Police about Operation Northleigh, it provides little new information, other than to reveal further delay in the process of justice and accountability.
This is the largest investigation in the Met’s history, and we recognise the immense scale and complexity of the work involved. However, for the families of the victims, the bereaved and survivors, and the community living around the tower, this will have been a long and painful decade without justice. Many people have lost faith that justice will take place at all.
We are encouraged that the investigation has identified 57 individuals and 20 companies who will be considered for charges. While we welcome this continuing progress, and the work that has been carried out by the police so far, justice cannot be delayed or denied any longer. We therefore urge the CPS and the Government to take all necessary steps and provide all necessary resources to ensure that these cases reach the courts on time, and are prosecuted fairly and effectively.
Forever in our hearts.”
– Kensington & Chelsea Labour Group of Councillors
For further comment or inquiries, please contact campaigns@kensingtonlabour.org.uk