Today’s report comes more than seven years after the tragedy in June 2017 when more than 70 people were killed in a devastating fire at one of London’s high-rise tower blocks.
Let’s take a look back at how we got to where we are today:
Fire breaks out in a fourth-floor flat at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, London with the first call to firefighters at 12.54am. Flames quickly spread throughout the building resulting in the deaths of 72 people.
Prime Minister Theresa May announces a public inquiry into the fire. Martin Moore-Bick, a retired court of appeal judge, is appointed to lead the inquiry two weeks later.
The inquiry begins with seven days of hearings commemorating the dead, starting with a tribute to the fire’s youngest victim, stillborn Logan Gomes.
Firefighters begin giving evidence to the inquiry. London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton tells the inquiry she would change nothing about her team’s response on the night of the fire. Survivors react with anger.
The government bans combustible cladding on all residential buildings above 18 meters (59 feet), as well as schools, care homes, student accommodation and hospitals.
Survivors and bereaved families project a message on to the Houses of Parliament reading: “Two years after Grenfell, this building still hasn’t kept its promises #DemandChange.”
The inquiry releases its report on the first phase of its investigation. The report’s recommendations include calls for legislation to require evacuation plans for all high-rise residential buildings, more frequent inspections of elevators and fire doors, better training for firefighters and improved communication among emergency responders.
The second phase of the inquiry opens at a new venue in Paddington. Over the next 18 months it will examine 200,000 unseen documents, from private emails to phone transcripts and commercial agreements looking at decisions taken in the months before the fire.
Prince William and MPs join in memorial services to mark five years since the fire. Some say Grenfell families feel “abandoned” after half a decade of “betrayal” by the housing department and slow progress on safety improvements.
London’s Metropolitan Police Service confirms that bereaved families and survivors may have to wait until the end of 2026 for a decision on potential criminal charges. The Met says police won’t complete their investigation until the end of 2025, and prosecutors are likely to need another year to determine whether any charges will be brought.
Government figures show the slow pace of removing dangerous cladding from buildings in England. While authorities have identified 4,630 residential buildings of 11 meters (36 feet) or more that have unsafe cladding, only around half (2,299) have either started or completed remediation works. Less than a third (1,350) have completed the work.
Final report of the Grenfell Inquiry is published.