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”.
