Grenfell families tell Met to bring charges without delay

Survivors fear they won’t live to see justice being served

- ANDY GREGORY KATE DEVLIN ARCHIE MITCHELL

Grieving relatives of Grenfell fire victims are calling for those responsible to face manslaughter charges, as pressure builds on police to speed up their investigation.

Families and survivors expressed anguish that prosecutions might not be brought until 2026 despite this week’s damning inquiry report into the disaster which killed 72 residents and left 800 more homeless. Some fear they may not live to see justice for their loved ones over the 2017 blaze in west London.

Shah Aghlani, 55, who lost his aunt and disabled mother in the fire, told The Independent that the prospect of further delay to criminal prosecutions “is our worst fear coming true, our nightmare coming true”.

And he said the lack of accountability over Grenfell has emboldened developers to drag their feet in fixing thousands of buildings still endangered by flammable cladding seven years on, labelling a fire that ravaged a block of flats in London last week as “Grenfell Two”.

“There are harsher laws for drinking and driving than killing people by corporate manslaughter,” said Mr Aghlani. “There are people who falsified test results, people whose job was to make sure the safety and security of the building was not compromised. People who were responsible for their tenants. There is a chain of these failures that has to be addressed – it’s not difficult to find them.”

At an event organised by Grenfell Next of Kin, a campaign group supporting around half of those whose loved ones died, Mr Aghlani said only manslaughter charges would bring justice, “nothing less”.

Hisam Choucair, whose mother, sister, brother-in-law and three nieces died at Grenfell, told The Independent he was “absolutely disgusted but not surprised” at the prospect of years more waiting – even though the inquiry was ordered by then prime minister Theresa May while rescuers were still searching for survivors.