Grenfell survivor warns more lives will be destroyed if justice delayed to 2030 (original) (raw)
Grenfell families could be forced to wait until 2030 for those responsible for the 2017 tower block fire to face justice, ex-top prosecutor Lord Macdonald warned
Emma O'Connor, a survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire, warned another tragedy could happen
A survivor of the Grenfell Tower disaster has warned more lives could be destroyed as those responsible may not face justice before 2030.
The Inquiry into the 2017 fire, which claimed 72 lives, blamed “decades of failure” by those in power and "systematic dishonesty" from building firms for the tragedy. Police are under pressure to speed up the criminal probe into the Grenfell disaster as families have already waited seven years for the Inquiry's findings.
But the Metropolitan Police has said it needs from 12 to 18 months to study the report before any criminal charges are brought. Potential offences include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, misconduct in public office, health and safety offences, fraud, and offences under the fire safety and building regulations.
Lord Macdonald, a former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), warned that criminal trials may not start before 2029, with verdicts only being returned the following year.
The deadly blaze at Grenfell Tower claimed 72 lives in 2017 (
Image:
Getty Images)
"Unless processes are massively expedited, justice is a very long way away," he told the Guardian. "The criminal justice system is still suffering terribly from austerity cuts, which did enormous damage.
"The upshot is that it now takes years for cases to come to trial after charge. Criminal cases arising out of Grenfell are likely to be many and complex.
"The Crown Prosecution Service is speaking of charging decisions in 2026. This is probably optimistic. But even if it is right, on current trial schedules, it could be two or three years later before trials can be heard. Some are potentially talking about 2028, 2029."
Emma O'Connor, a disabled resident who escaped the tower but lost two friends on the night, told the Mirror that more lives could be destroyed by delays.
She said: "What you're doing by delaying this even longer is putting us through trauma and still letting [manufacturers] make money and another Grenfell will happen.
US ELECTION WHATSAPP: Join our US Election WhatsApp group here to be first to get all the biggest news and results as America heads to the polls. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by Mirror interim political editor Lizzy Buchan and Express political editor Sam Lister, every Thursday.
"Another Grenfell can and will happen. They've been able to make money selling this dangerous cladding. It's not fair on lives that could be destroyed like ours were.
"[The Met Police] said [charges would be brought] in 2026 and I was willing to accept that but now this is coming out. It's too long [to wait till 2029 for criminal trials]. They've got all the evidence they need.
"I don't know how much more evidence they need to keep it watertight. It's not good enough."
Deputy PM Angela Rayner has backed the police to bring forward criminal prosecutions swiftly. She said on Thursday: “We can’t have a situation where justice is delayed because that is justice denied, so as quickly as possible the Met Police will carry out their investigation and we’ve got to support that process.”
Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said the 72 deaths were avoidable and blamed "decades of failure" by government, other authorities and the building industry. Construction manufacturers' “systematic dishonesty” was a “very significant reason” why Grenfell Tower came to be covered in flammable materials, the inquiry found.
June 14 2017: At 12.54am, a call is made to the London Fire Brigade reporting a fire has broken out in a fourth-floor flat. Barely half an hour later, at 1.29am, flames had climbed to the top floor of the 24-storey block.
June 28 2017: Then PM-Theresa May appoints retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick to lead a public inquiry into the disaster.
September 19 2017: The Metropolitan Police announce a widening of their criminal investigation, as detectives consider individual as well as corporate manslaughter charges.
January 29 2018: Maria del Pilar Burton, a 74-year-old survivor known as Pily, dies in palliative care. She had been in a care home, unable to return to her husband Nicholas, since the fire. She comes to be considered the 72nd victim of the fire.
May 17 2018: Dame Judith Hackitt, who was asked to carry out an independent review into building regulations, recommends "fundamental reform" to improve fire safety. Ministers promise to consult on banning flammable cladding.
June 4 2018: Sir Martin's inquiry begins hearing opening statements from lawyers and a batch of expert reports are released.
June 21 2018: Firefighter evidence begins. It ends with then London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton telling the inquiry she would change nothing about her team's response on the night of the fire. Survivors and the bereaved react with anger.
September 30 2018: The Government bans the use of combustible cladding on all new residential buildings above 18 metres, as well as schools, care homes, student accommodation and hospitals.
October 3 2018: Survivors, those who lost family in the fire and local residents begin giving evidence at the inquiry, with the first phase of the inquiry coming to a close the following month.
June 10 2019: Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy says there is no guarantee criminal damages will be brought over the fire.
June 18 2019: Survivors and bereaved families project a message on to the Houses of Parliament reading: "Two years after Grenfell, this building still hasn't kept its promises #DemandChange."
July 18 2019: A Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report accuses the Government of "not doing enough" to remove dangerous cladding from buildings, more than two years on from the blaze.
October 30 2019: The inquiry’s phase one report is published and concludes that the principal reason the flames shot up the building so quickly was the combustible aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding with polyethylene core which acted as a "source of fuel". It also finds the London Fire Brigade (LFB)'s preparation for a tower block fire such as Grenfell was "gravely inadequate".
November 6 2019: Jacob Rees-Mogg apologises for suggesting Grenfell victims should have used "common sense" and ignored fire service guidance not to leave the burning tower block.
March 11 2020: Then Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces a £1billion fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise residential buildings.
April 28 2020: Remediation work to address unsafe cladding on high-rise residential blocks pauses "on as many as 60% of sites" after the Covid-19 outbreak, then communities secretary Robert Jenrick says.
November 17 2020: Robert Jenrick said he hopes dangerous cladding like that used on the outside of Grenfell Tower will be removed from the majority of other buildings by the end of the year
April 29 2021: Campaigners condemn the Government's "indefensible" Fire Safety Bill, which will become law and leave hundreds of thousands of leaseholders paying to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings.
October 27 2021: The Government decides to charge property developers with profits of more than £25million a levy, to raise the £5billion fund to remove unsafe cladding, at a rate of 4%.
November 8 2021: Newly-appointed Housing Secretary Michael Gove says the Government "failed people at Grenfell" and did not always appreciate the importance of fire safety, in his first address to MPs in the role.
January 7-10 2022: Michael Gove says thousands of flat owners living in buildings taller than 11 metres will be spared the cost of removing dangerous cladding, and says developers must agree to a plan to fix it.
January 27 2022: The Grenfell Tower Inquiry enters Phase 2, which is investigating how the building came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread so quickly.
July 2023: The long-awaited Social Housing (Regulation) Act passes into law, including a requirement for social housing managers to have professional qualifications - a measure which had been called for by campaign group Grenfell United.
May 2024: Police confirm bereaved families and survivors face waiting until the end of 2026 for a decision on potential criminal charges over the fire. It means any convictions would likely follow the year after.
June 14 2024: On the seventh anniversary of the fire, campaigners from the infected blood scandal and the Covid Bereaved group join for the memorial walk.
August 26 2024: A non-fatal fire at a block of flats in east London which had been undergoing work to have cladding removed prompts fierce criticism of the slow pace of remediation works on dangerous buildings.
September 4 2024: The inquiry’s final report is published.