Tenants group may also face charges over Grenfell

A tenants' association could face a corporate manslaughter charge over the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in west London, it has been revealed.

Following a nine-year investigation into the disaster, the Metropolitan Police this week handed files on 20 organisations and 54 individuals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Among those is Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) - which was in charge of the local council's social housing stock - that could also face health and safety and regulatory charges.

It has also been confirmed evidence on the London Fire Brigade (LFB), the Ministry of Housing and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) have been sent to prosecutors.

The Met's investigation - Operation Northleigh - began soon after the fire in June 2017 and has involved hundreds of investigating officers.

The force is seeking charges including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences and fraud offences over the deaths of the 72 killed in the fire in north Kensington.

The CPS said any charging decisions would be made before the 10th anniversary of the disaster in 2027.

A public inquiry found the fire was avoidable and set out how a chain of failures across government and the private sector led to the disaster.

KCTMO - which is no longer in operation - said: "We remain acutely conscious of the terrible impact of the Grenfell Tower fire on the bereaved, survivors, their relatives and the wider Grenfell community, and continue to offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to all those affected."

"We will continue to cooperate with the authorities as the process continues."

Most of the organisations facing potential prosecution have not yet been named.

On Thursday, LFB said its commissioner had been notified that a file on the service had been sent to prosecutors.

The brigade said: "The London fire commissioner welcomes the progress in the investigation process and reaffirms his commitment to providing the CPS with full cooperation, as LFB has sought to do throughout Operation Northleigh."

The commissioner, Jonathan Smith, said: "We remember the 72 people who lost their lives, and our thoughts remain with the bereaved, survivors and everyone whose lives were changed forever by that night.

"We continue working with our partners across government and the fire and rescue sector to ensure the lessons of the Grenfell tragedy are learnt, and this continues to shape everything we do."

The fire started in the kitchen of a fourth floor flat and then spread rapidly on the outside of the building via combustible cladding.

In a report following the first phase of the public inquiry, chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick condemned LFB's "serious shortcomings" and systemic failures in its response to the fire.

He concluded that fewer people would have died in the blaze if the LFB had taken certain actions earlier.

LFB said it had accepted the findings of the inquiry and had implemented all the recommendations from both phases.

Grenfell United, a bereaved families and survivors group, has previously criticised the time frame for prosecutions.

Earlier this week, 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.

"We want those responsible to face justice."

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