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Grenfell Tower death toll may be below 80 as police consider manslaughter charges

The final death toll in the Grenfell Tower fire may be below 80, police have said.

Scotland Yard said the criminal investigation into the fire may consider individual as well as corporate manslaughter charges.

The Metropolitan Police now believe that the death toll from the June 14 blaze may fall slightly from the current estimate of about 80.

The force revealed in a briefing on Tuesday that detectives are also investigating eight cases of fraud involving people who claimed money following the disaster, as well as four possible thefts from flats on the lower levels while the building was under 24-hour security.

Commander Stuart Cundy said the progress made in terms of recovering remains was ‘much higher’ than he had expected three months ago.

A banner at a recent vigil in west London to remember those who died in the Grenfell fire (Picture: PA)
A banner at a recent vigil in west London to remember those who died in the Grenfell fire (Picture: PA)

Some 60 of the estimated 80 people killed in the fire have been formally identified, he said, adding that the exact figure would not be known until the investigation was complete.

He said the figure of 80 ‘may come down a little bit’ due to the recoveries made from the tower, the number of identifications made and video evidence from the night.

CCTV viewed by police showed that 240 people left the tower between midnight and 8am on the night of the fire.

But, he said, there could still be people with no social or family connection outside of the tower, and not on any official lists, who therefore could still be within the high-rise.

He declined to put a number on how many the death count could fall by.

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Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner said the investigation would deal with ‘whatever offences come to light’.

He 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.’

He warned that this did not mean that investigators had already come across evidence suggesting culpability on these issues.

So far, investigators have identified 2,400 different individuals to speak to, and taken more than 1,000 statements.

These include 675 firefighters, 340 police officers and a similar number of ambulance staff involved in the emergency response up until 8pm on June 14.

Police are still investigating the Grenfell fire (Picture: PA)
Police are still investigating the Grenfell fire (Picture: PA)

Police have seized 31 million documents and 2,500 exhibits as part of their investigation so far.

They have identified 336 different organisations with ‘varying degrees of involvement’ as part of the construction, refurbishment and management strands. A fourth strand of the investigation is looking at the emergency response to the fire.

Some 340 body-worn clips from emergency services personnel on the night have also been documented and downloaded. Forensic examination of the tower will run into the new year, followed by laboratory testing.

Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said the number of officers working in the tower was doubled on Monday in the hope of completing the recovery process by the New Year.

She said: ‘It’s a really harrowing scene… and it takes a finger tip and sieved approach to ensure that we get every remain that we can out of there.

‘It’s a meticulous process and now it’s becoming harder due to the degree of fire damage and the fragmentation of the remaining people we are finding.’

Ms McCormack said the Met was currently looking into eight cases of fraud relating to people who had claimed money following the fire.

Two of the eight individuals have been charged, one has been bailed, while the other allegations are still being investigated.