Met awaits annual grant for Grenfell crime probe

The Metropolitan Police says it is waiting to learn whether it will receive further government funding to assist its criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Operation Northleigh began after the blaze that killed 72 people in North Kensington during June 2017. It is one of the largest investigations ever undertaken by Scotland Yard.

The team has grown in numbers over the years and now involves more than 220 investigators - costing £127m to date.

Since the inquiry began, the Home Office has awarded the Met a special grant annually to help fund the work – but the Met "awaits certainty" on these specific grants this year.

In a report to the London Policing Board, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the force had not yet received confirmation that this support will continue.

In his report, Sir Mark wrote: "The Home Office announced the final Police Settlement on 29 January.

"The settlement was lower than we had anticipated, and the MPS and City Hall are in ongoing discussions with the Home Office about 2026-27 and 2027-28 budget years."

He adds that MPS "also awaits certainty on specific grants" which include the criminal investigation into Grenfell, Operation Northleigh as well as Operation Beaconport, which reviews closed investigations into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Asked whether the Met had concerns about continued funding for the Grenfell investigation, a spokesperson told BBC London: "As in previous years the Met has applied to the Home Office for a special grant and we await the outcome."

The Met said the criminal inquiry is examining a range of "very serious criminal offences" including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and breaches of health and safety law.

Investigators are assessing the actions of 20 companies and more than 50 individuals.

The force remains on track to submit case files to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging decisions this autumn.

Previously, Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivor group, said they needed to see justice, describing the wait as "unbearable".

Speaking in the Commons in February, housing secretary Steve Reed said: "For the bereaved and survivors and the wider Grenfell community, the need for justice is deeply felt, including decisions on criminal charges."

The minister said the Metropolitan Police investigation was one of the most complex it had ever conducted, adding: "I know the slow progress is painful for those who have already waited too long for the justice they deserve."

Since 2017, the Home Office has provided more than £30m in special grant funding to support Operation Northleigh.

Sources have told BBC London that the commissioner's frustration may simply be down to timing, and that they expect the Home Office to approve the additional funding the Met has requested.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

Work to dismantle Grenfell Tower began in September and is expected to take two years.

The government has also published a Construction Products Reform White Paper outlining plans for a single construction regulator and updated rules for building products.

Housing minister Angela Reed said the Building Safety Regulator would evolve into the body recommended by the inquiry, and confirmed that a consultation on the reforms had begun.

She also announced that new rules requiring emergency evacuation plans for high‑rise buildings will come into force on 6 April, ensuring vulnerable residents have a means of escape in an emergency.

On cladding, Reed told MPs that unsafe ACM cladding - the same type used on Grenfell - has now been removed from 91% of high‑rise residential and public buildings, with work under way at most remaining sites.

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