Grenfell Tower fire: individual manslaughter charges may be sought alongside corporate manslaughter charges

Sep 19, 2017

Written By Becky Kells, Editor, AllAboutLaw

The police officers investigating the Grenfell Tower fire have identified 336 different organisations who had ‘varying degrees of involvement’ in the disaster - some of which could be charged with corporate or personal manslaughter.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner said that "whatever offences come to light" would be dealt with.

While charges of corporate manslaughter have been mentioned in relation to the fire previously, this is the first time the police have mentioned the prospect of individual manslaughter charges.

Bonner said: "The kind of stuff I would envisage we may come across would involve offences perhaps of fraud, misconduct offences, health and safety breaches, breaches of fire safety regulations, and of course offences of manslaughter, whether that be on a corporate or an individual level."

It was recently revealed that theft took place in the tower in the days afterward, while the tower was guarded by 24-hour security. In one case a large sum of money was stolen from the severely damaged building.

Scotland Yard also said that the death toll - originally released as 80 - may decrease slightly, due to a number of cases of fraud. There has been a lot of pressure for a definitive death toll, as well as a corresponding list of names, to be released. Due to the nature of the fire, establishing victims has been a lengthy and ongoing process.

This news comes in the early days of the Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. Chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the inquiry opened last Thursday 14th September - exactly 3 months after the deadly fire took place.

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