The Scotland Yard investigation into the Grenfell fire disaster has said there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect the council and the organisation that managed the tower block of corporate manslaughter.
The two organisations under suspicion are Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.
The law on corporate manslaughter would require any prosecution to prove that there was a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to those who died.
Around 80 people are estimated to have died in the disaster with the fire spreading so fast and reaching temperatures of 1000C, experts are struggling to identify the victims. Families have been warned they may not have the remains of their loved ones returned to them.
In a letter sent to survivors and the families of those who died, police said the decision to identify two organisations as suspects, follows the seizing of documents and taking of a large number of witness statements.
In their letter, police said: “After an initial assessment of that information, the officer leading the investigation has today notified Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that each organisation may have committed the offence of corporate manslaughter, under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.”
The 2007 act says that an organisation is guilty of corporate manslaughter “if the way in which its activities are managed or organised … causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased”.
Anyone found guilty is liable to a fine, not imprisonment. The breach of the duty of care “is a gross breach if the conduct alleged … falls far below what can be reasonably be expected of the organisation in the circumstances”.
The police letter adds: “In due course, a senior representative of each corporation will be formally interviewed by police in relation to the potential offence.” It also says the 2007 act does not give detectives the power to arrest any individual from the organisations under suspicion.
Any prosecution would need the consent of the director of public prosecutions, who is the head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Detectives have been consulting with the CPS since their criminal investigation began after the disaster on 14 June.
Labour MP David Lammy said more action was needed by police, who should consider a charge that carries jail time. Lammy, who lost a family friend in the disaster, told the Guardian: “I am pleased that justice for Grenfell victims and families is being taken seriously by the Metropolitan police and the CPS. But the punishment for corporate manslaughter is a fine.
“A fine would not represent justice for the Grenfell victims and their families. Gross negligence involuntary manslaughter carries a punishment of prison time and I hope that the police and the CPS are considering involuntary manslaughter caused by gross negligence.”
At least 60 firms have been identified as playing a part in working on Grenfell over the years, and Thursday’s news does not rule out other organisations or individuals being investigated for other offences.
Earlier this month police said the starting point of their criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire was that 80 deaths resulted from manslaughter. What is new is the revelation that they reasonable grounds to suspect that two organisations may have committed the offence.
Detectives have been examining firms, individuals and those who refurbished the block and devised its fire safety policies.
Anger among residents of North Kensington over the causes and consequences of the fire has been mounting in the past six weeks. Public meetings at which officials and politicians have attempted to respond to complaints and questions from members of the community have been conducted in an atmosphere of volatile fury and distress.
Police representatives have been heckled and shouted down. Residents have demanded charges be laid against the council, the TMO and the suppliers of the cladding believed to be the cause of the fire’s rapid spread. They have repeatedly complained that the police are being too cautious in their investigation.
Yvette Williams of Justice4Grenfell welcomed the development: “At least [the council and the TMO] have been warned about what’s coming their way. But we would like to see individuals prosecuted as well. People implement policy and take decisions, so we want to see those people brought to account.”
She said the move would restore some faith in the police investigation “but let’s not have a smokescreen”.
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Pointing out that there had never been a successful prosecution for corporate manslaughter, Williams said: “We want to see people sitting in the dock, and we can provide the police with their names.”
Joe Delany, who lives in a block adjoining the tower and has worked with the Grenfell Action Group, said: “I think everyone has more cautious scepticism than cautious optimism; it’s one thing to announce this investigation is going on – which is totally different from a prosecution being brought, which is completely different to a conviction being achieved.
“Also, one thing we have never seen in this country are individuals prosecuted under corporate manslaughter because it is always hard to find the controlling mind. I do hope that this case would prove to be the exception, rather than the rule.”
The Conservative-led council’s botched response to the disaster, which devastated the lives of some of the poorest in one of the richest boroughs in Britain, led to its leader and his deputy quitting.
The current council leader, Elizabeth Campbell, said: “Our residents deserve answers about the Grenfell Tower fire and the police investigation will provide these.
“We fully support the Metropolitan police investigation and we will cooperate in every way we can.”
In a statement to the media Scotland Yard said: “The Met started an investigation into the cause and spread of the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June. Since then we have stated that it is a criminal investigation, considering the full range of offences from corporate manslaughter to regulatory breaches.
“This is a complex and far-reaching investigation that by its very nature will take a considerable time to complete.
“The Met has made a commitment to the families who lost loved ones in the fire and survivors that they will be kept updated, as far as we possibly can, as the investigation continues.
“As is routine, we will not give a running commentary on this investigation.”