Corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety offences, fraud and fraud-related offences and misconduct in public office are among the charges sought, the BBC reports. 

London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and the Department of Housing have both been referred to the CPS following the fire which caused the deaths of 72 people at the tower block in West London’s North Kensington. 

Charging decisions would be made before the 10th anniversary of the disaster, which is 14 June 2027, said the CPS. 

RBKC said it had been informed by the Met that it had referred it to the CPS for offences of corporate manslaughter, section 3 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and acting contrary to the Regulatory Reform (fire safety) Order 2005.

The council leader Elizabeth Campbell said their “commitment to candour, openness, and accountability has not changed”.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has also confirmed that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for building safety, has since 2023 been under investigation, in relation to Grenfell.

A file concerning a possible breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 had now been sent to the CPS, Rayner said. 

But as a government department, the ministry has Crown Immunity and so cannot be prosecuted.

While it still needs to adhere to health and safety law, it cannot face charges or face the penalties that would typically come after a conviction.

Instead, it would face a formal Crown Censure by the Health and Safety Executive.

Rayner has asserted that “in order to protect the integrity of the investigation” the department had not previously talked about its details publicly, “including its own status as a subject of it”.

Rayner added: “The government failed in its fundamental duty to keep the residents of Grenfell Tower safe.

“Lives were lost as a consequence of profound failures within the building safety system. On behalf of the British state, I am sorry.”

Released in 2024, a public inquiry report found the fire was avoidable and stated how shortcomings in government and the private sector prompted the fire. 

The Met’s investigation, Operation Northleigh, has been active in parallel with the public inquiry, but detectives waited for the inquiry to release its findings before completing their work.

Detectives commissioned laboratory tests and examined thousands of pieces of debris from the disaster, such as the fridge which malfunctioned in a fourth-floor flat, from where the flames spread to other areas of the building. 

The actions of 15,000 people across 700 organisations or companies have been investigated by police, in which 14,700 statements have been taken. 

A total of 45,000 documents, images and exhibits have also been examined as part of the investigation. 

The files sent to the CPS include examples of this evidence, as well as reports which carry over two million words.

Kevin Southworth, deputy assistant commissioner, said: “As we have said before, this is one of the most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency – the scale is truly enormous.

“While we know this has had a significant impact on those waiting for answers, it has necessarily taken this long to ensure our investigation is meticulous and presents the very best possible evidence to the CPS for charging decisions.”

The CPS will conclude whether there is a practical prospect of conviction, and will consider if bringing charges is in the public interest.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Charging decisions will be made independently by CPS prosecutors following a thorough and careful review of all the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service.”