Prosecutors consider manslaughter charges in wake of Grenfell tragedy
The most serious charges possible are sought against those responsible for the blaze, Sir Keir Starmer says
‘There are prosecutors already in advising the police so the criminal investigation comes first... I think speed is of the essence here’
PROSECUTORS are considering bringing manslaughter charges against those responsible for the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the former director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer has revealed.
The shadow Brexit secretary said prosecutors were working alongside the police in the criminal investigation.
He suggested that manslaughter charges were the priority and would be considered ahead of other regulatory offences. The “number of people missing, but as yet unaccounted for” has risen from 58, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said last night.
Sir Keir also responded to the mounting calls for a coroner’s inquest to take place ahead of the public inquiry, explaining that inquests could not get underway until the criminal investigation was completed, whereas an inquiry could commence straightaway.
He told the BBC’S The Andrew Marr Show: “I spoke to the DPP yesterday and there are prosecutors already in advising the police. So the criminal investigation really has to come first.
“Normally an inquest will only take place at the end of the criminal investigation, so the idea of an inquiry is important because that can, in some circumstances, happen much more quickly and I think speed is of the essence here.”
Asked if they would be looking specifically into manslaughter charges, he said: “Yes. When we were looking at this when I was DPP in relation to other fires, we were looking at manslaughter charges.
“There are wider regulatory offences but I think manslaughter is the most serious and that’s the one that needs to be looked at first.
“So a public inquiry allows things to happen more quickly and allows a broader range of questions and inquests come usually at the end of the exercise.”
He added that all political parties “need to ask serious questions about why recommendations in the past have not been implemented”.
After six people died in the Lakanal House fire in south London in 2009, the All-party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group called for a review of building regulations, arguing 4,000 tower blocks across London were at risk.
MPS from the group also said they have called for sprinklers to be fitted on the outside of tall buildings for years, but have been ignored.
The coroner on the Lakanal House inquest recommended the Government simplify fire safety regulations.
In 2013, Sir Eric Pickles, then communities secretary, promised a review with updated building regulations to be published in 2016-17.
However, no review has been completed.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said the work was “ongoing” and would not give a date for when the updated regulations will be published.
Nick Hurd, the fire minister, last week indicated that a promised review of building regulations would not be published until after the inquiry. In 2014, the housing minister Brandon Lewis refused to make building developers fit sprinklers, over fears the cost could discourage construction.
David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham whose friend Khadija Saye is feared dead in the Grenfell fire, has demanded that “corporate manslaughter” charges be brought.
He said that issues relating to sprinklers, fire doors and the cladding should be investigated and called on Mrs May and the police to seize relevant Grenfell Tower documents amid concerns of a cover-up.
Residents who met with Mrs May in Downing Street this weekend have criticised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation for its reaction to the disaster.
The group said in a statement: “With the exception of very few junior officers, the estate managers have been invisible in the aftermath of the tragedy.”
Nick Paget-brown, the Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, insisted officers were on the ground “very soon” after the fire broke out.