Police said a decision on whether criminal charges will be brought over the Grenfell Tower fire will be made before the 10th anniversary of the disaster next summer.Bereaved relatives and survivors, who say they have already faced an unacceptably long wait for justice, met the news with “caution, grief and determination”.The Metropolitan Police confirmed in an update on Tuesday that files of evidence will be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service by 30 September this year, with charging decisions before 14 June 2027.Officers said 165 million electronic files had been gathered and searched for evidence, while 14,400 statements have been taken. Some 57 individuals and 20 organisations are suspects for criminal offences.Campaigners said they met the latest news with ‘caution, grief and determination’ (PA Wire)The Met said the operation is the largest and most complex inquiry the force has ever carried out, and has looked at the role of 15,000 individuals and 700 organisations relevant to the investigation. Forensic investigators spent 14 months at the tower itself gathering evidence.The blaze in June 2017 claimed the lives of 72 people and was found by a public inquiry to have been avoidable.Investigating officer Garry Moncrieff, who has stayed with the investigation despite retiring as a police officer, said offences under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud and health and safety breaches.He said from New Scotland Yard on Tuesday: “It is important that we do it once and do it right.”A spokesperson for Grenfell United, which represents some of the families bereaved by the disaster and survivors, called for no further delay.“Today’s update from the Metropolitan Police marks an important step in a process that has already taken far too long,” the group said in a statement.“Nearly 10 years after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 people, bereaved families, survivors and residents are being told that files will begin to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in September 2026, with charging decisions expected before the tenth anniversary.People take part in a silent march in west London in memory of those killed in the Grenfell Tower disaster (PA Archive)“For our community, this is not news we meet with celebration. We meet it with caution, grief and determination. We have waited almost a decade for accountability.“No family should have to wait over 10 years for justice for their loved ones, if it comes at all.“The final report of the Grenfell Inquiry laid bare the shocking failures, dishonesty and disregard for human life that led to the fire. Grenfell was not a tragedy without cause.“Those responsible must now be held to account. But after waiting nearly 10 years, our community cannot be expected to endure years more of delay.“The Ministry of Justice and the government must ensure the courts are properly resourced so that any prosecutions linked to Grenfell are heard swiftly. Justice delayed any further would be unacceptable.”The Grenfell Inquiry found that the disaster was preceded by “decades of failure” by governments and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.It also found victims, the bereaved and survivors were “badly failed” through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms which made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said in his final report in 2024.He also condemned the “deliberate and sustained” manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market.