Criminal convictions and prison terms are strongly wanted by mourners and survivors, but any criminal trials may not begin until 2025, more than seven years after the disaster, the Guardian understands. The Metropolitan Police will await the release of the full investigation report before presenting evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether to lay charges. Possible crimes include corporate manslaughter, grossly negligent homicide, fraud and health and safety offences. The investigation is not expected to release its report until at least October 2023 and could be as early as 2024. The timeline suggests trials may not begin until 2025. If 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez had not died in the rooftop shelter of a neighbor’s flat, she would be approaching her 21st birthday. By this summer, 40 people had been interviewed under caution, with more than 100 more expected to face the same process, said Stuart Cundy, deputy assistant commissioner at the Met. Fraud, manslaughter and health and safety offenses by individuals can be punished with imprisonment. Corporate manslaughter and health and safety offenses by organizations attract unlimited fines. The chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, will meanwhile digest the summaries of evidence produced by the inquiry’s lawyers before drawing up findings which will identify failings and determine responsibility. It’s a huge undertaking for the retired appellate judge. The search uncovered 320,000 documents and the 75-year-old is working alongside colleagues Thouria Istephan, an architect, and Ali Akbor, a housing expert. They will also make recommendations for changes which could include tightening fire safety rules and the treatment of social housing tenants. A separate civil court process is underway involving more than 1,100 members of the Grenfell community, estates of the 72 people who died, emergency responders and many of the organizations involved in the refurbishment, from the owner, the Royal Borough of Kensington. and Chelsea Council, to Arconic, the investment developer. Lord Neuberger, former president of the Supreme Court, acts as mediator. The actions could lead to multi-million pound payouts, admissions of liability and other remedies. Plans are underway to turn the ruins of Grenfell Tower, or perhaps more likely its site, into a permanent memorial to the disaster. A committee is considering preserving parts of the building and is set to hold a design competition. He recently visited a memorial to the Manchester Arena bombing, which happened three months before the fire. The community is consulted about who should own it and how it should feel and be used, for example as a gathering place, for commemoration, prayer, reflection, educational and children’s activities. Political unrest has disrupted progress in two other key areas: social housing reform and particularly tenant voices. and resolving the nationwide building safety crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of tenants in high-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings with unsold homes. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The government has yet to deliver on its social housing white paper commitments to empower residents and raise consumer standards. On Thursday, he told the Grenfell inquiry that “where further change is required, the department is committed to implementing it”. Michael Gove, who recently returned to his role as secretary of state for regeneration, housing and communities, is also under pressure to ensure that developers who have promised to fund and carry out rehabilitation on affected private blocks do so and accelerate the development of a £4.5bn Building Safety Fund. Many mourners and survivors see action on these fronts as central to achieving justice.
