Grenfell Inquiry: Two-year wait for criminal charges 'disheartening'
Campaigners feel frustrated at the news that criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire may not be brought until 2021.
Thursday 7 March 2019 06:25, UK
Grenfell campaigners are "frustrated" at the news that criminal charges over the fire may not be brought for another two years.
Scotland Yard said in a statement it is unlikely to submit a file to the Crown Prosecution Service before "the latter part of 2021".
It said it would be "wrong" not to wait for the final report of the Grenfell inquiry as the second phase is unlikely to begin before the end of this year.
Survivors and relatives of those killed in the blaze feel the wait is "extremely frustrating and disheartening" as more time passes without individuals being held accountable, campaign group Grenfell United said.
Natasha Elcock, survivor and chairwoman of the group, said all those left behind "urgently need reassurances from government that justice and change will come".
She said: "We are living in a limbo with no individuals or organisations being held accountable and it is so painful for all of us who lost loved ones and our homes that night.
"We wait month after month, our lives on hold, for some kind of justice and progress.
"It is extremely frustrating and disheartening to now be told this will be our way of life for years to come."
Detective Superintendent Matt Bonner, who is heading the police investigation into the fire, acknowledged that the wait may be longer than some people had expected, but said police must "ensure all the available evidence is considered".
He said: "We have always said our investigation will be thorough, exploring all reasonable lines of inquiry and examining all the available evidence."
A total of 71 people died in the blaze in west London on 14 June 2017, with a 72nd victim dying months later in hospital.
The inquiry's second part will examine the wider issues surrounding the fire, while the first phased looked into the night itself.
Ms Elcock, who is a mother of three, used bathwater to put out flames as their 11th-floor flat began to catch fire and said bereaved families and fellow survivors "know the truth about what happened to us".
"We know the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower turned our homes into a death trap and we know that people, organisations and institutions that were meant to care for us didn't and 72 people died. And yet no one has been held accountable."
She said that thousands of people are continuing to live in homes with dangerous cladding 21 months after the blaze, and that people in social housing "are still being mistreated" by landlords.