A lack of funding has led to a delay in the Metropolitan Police’s criminal investigation into Grenfell, The Telegraph has reported
Survivors and relatives of the victims who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire were informed of the expected delay in a letter from Detective Superintendent Garry Moncrieff, the senior investigating officer for the Grenfell Tower investigation. In the letter, he stated that the force would no longer be able to meet its intended target of March 2026.
As reported by the newspaper, Det Supt Moncrieff cited a “lack of investment” as the reason for the investigation’s delay, with the updated “new timescale” suggesting that the force would not submit its charging files until September 2026, with any potential “charging decisions” from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) moving “from late 2026 into 2027”, nearly ten years after the tragedy.
“I know that will be unwelcome news when we previously stated that we thought it would take 12–18 months from September 2024 when the inquiry published its final report.
“My current view is that we will take around six months longer than we projected.”
Previously described as the largest and most complex investigation ever carried out by the Met, the dedicated team of 180 officers involved has been cut to 160, due to the “significant demands on policing and difficulties the Metropolitan Police Services has in the recruitment of police officers”.
Det Supt Moncrieff added that he had been in touch with government ministers to request a “range of measures” to speed up the investigation process and was awaiting a response.
Responding to the projected delay on social media, the campaign group Grenfell Next of Kin said: “The families are furious and flabbergasted by the way they have been played by the entire system.”
Dept Asst Commissioner Stuart Cundy added that the force “recognise[d] the frustrations of many that no criminal charging decision[s] have yet been made”.
“We must not risk our investigation at this stage, we have one chance to get this right,” he said.
“We continue to engage with the Home Office and remain in ongoing discussions with them about funding and resources for the investigation to secure justice for those who died and all those affected.”
A spokesman for the government told The Telegraph: “We share the community’s determination to get to the truth of what happened and for those responsible to be held to account.
“The Metropolitan Police are operationally independent, but we fully support all actions to hold parties to account and will fully support them and CPS as they complete their complex investigations and bring prosecutions to trial.”
Earlier this month, the University of Central Lancashire published new research into the effects of smoke from the Grenfell Tower fire on firefighter health. As reported by the FPA, the research data indicated that 26% of firefighters who attended the disaster had suffered adverse health outcomes.
Commenting on the academic study, Grenfell United campaigners said:
“We have been failed by all who have the power and means to improve the health outcomes for our community, especially our young people who survived that horrific night.
“With this inaction over the last 8 years, we have lost time, lost data, and are no closer to finding out if we will lose more lives as a result of what happened on the 14th June 2017.”
Following the publication of the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report on 4 September 2024, the government has stated its commitment to sharing its responses to the report’s recommendations within six months.