Police are planning to build a full-size replica of a part of Grenfell Tower to help with criminal convictions, it has been reported.
Metropolitan Police has reportedly told victims’ families that the model would be used to help explain to juries how the fire spread in any future trials.
However, the prolonged wait for the trial has left some families questioning whether such a complex inquiry was appropriate for a traditional police force.
Grieving relatives have told The Telegraph they fear they will never “see justice” over the devastating fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people — and was one of London’s worst disasters in recent history, highlighting the city’s severe housing inequalities.
A spokesperson for Grenfell Next of Kin, which represents the families of the deceased, told the newspaper: “The trust is broken in the Met Police and the systems. Now they want to build a tower and on and on it goes.”
In a letter leaked to The Telegraph, the police chief in charge of the investigation, Det Supt Garry Moncrieff, said any replica must be “built to detailed specification and full-scale to help juries understand the case”.
It would need to be constructed inside a warehouse, with juries taken to view it, as it would be too large to display in a courtroom.
A final decision has not been made on whether the reconstruction will take place, Det Supt Moncrieff said, but the force wanted to inform families of the potential model first.
Det Moncrieff wrote: “As you more than anyone understand, this investigation has taken so long primarily because it is so complex. If there are future criminal trials, then those trials will take place before juries.
“The police, CPS, and our team of experts have spent a lot of time thinking about how we could best help those jurors understand really complicated evidence and technical topics.
“Part of my role is to work with the CPS, lawyers and experts to consider how best to present complex evidence to a jury, recognising that Grenfell Tower may no longer be there at the time of a trial.”
In the letter, Det Moncrieff said the number of investigators now working on the Grenfell inquiry was being increased to 180, costing almost £24million this year alone.
Despite the tragedy occurring almost eight years ago, Det Moncrieff reportedly disclosed the force was just over halfway through sending preliminary reports to prosecutors.
Police are planning to submit files on 20 separate organisations or companies and individual suspects connected to them, according to The Telegraph.
If all 20 files lead to charges, it is not clear how the trials would take place.
In a statement, Grenfell Next of Kin said: “Despite countless words spoken and hundreds of millions of pounds spent, and the immeasurable harm inflicted on the next of kin of those who died, what we have learned is that our justice system is fundamentally flawed. This investigation has clearly overwhelmed the Met Police.”
A Met Police spokesman said: “The Grenfell Tower fire is one of the most complex investigations ever undertaken by any UK law enforcement agency. The circumstances are highly unusual in that the criminal investigation and a public inquiry have been conducted at the same time, examining many of the same issues. Though both have examined the same tragedy, their purposes are different and are conducted to different legal standards.
“We cannot begin to imagine the impact that waiting for the outcome of our investigation must have on those who lost loved ones, those who survived, and all those affected by the tragedy.
“However, it is critical that we take great care to get this investigation right, and we have a dedicated team of 180 investigators, supported by leading experts, ensuring that we work as quickly as possible without compromising the quality of what we do.
“At the conclusion of our investigation, we will pass a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging decisions. That is an independent consideration for the CPS.
“However, we have recently explained to the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell Tower that we are considering building a reconstruction of some elements of the building, to help future juries understand the evidence should charges be brought. That reconstruction will not impact upon the timescale of the police investigation.”
