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| Grenfell Tower fire: Police considering manslaughter charges and have seized documents | Grenfell Tower fire: Police considering manslaughter charges and have seized documents |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Detectives are considering manslaughter charges as part of the investigation into the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Metropolitan Police said. | Detectives are considering manslaughter charges as part of the investigation into the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Metropolitan Police said. |
| Every criminal offence is being considered, according to Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack, after it emerged police had seized documents and materials from a "number of organisations". | |
| Investigators have now confirmed the fire was started by a Hotpoint fridge-freezer before spreading to the building's "combustible" cladding. | |
| "We are looking at every criminal offence from manslaughter onwards, we are looking at every health and safety and fire safety offences and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower," Ms McCormack said. | |
| Ms McCormack said the Hotpoint FF175BP model had not been subject to any product recall but the building's cladding, tiles and insulation failed safety tests carried out as part of the investigation. | Ms McCormack said the Hotpoint FF175BP model had not been subject to any product recall but the building's cladding, tiles and insulation failed safety tests carried out as part of the investigation. |
| Cladding installed on the outside of Grenfell Tower last year, for both insulation and aesthetic purposes, is suspected to have aided the rapid and “unprecedented” spread of the blaze, trapping dozens of residents inside. | Cladding installed on the outside of Grenfell Tower last year, for both insulation and aesthetic purposes, is suspected to have aided the rapid and “unprecedented” spread of the blaze, trapping dozens of residents inside. |
| Ms McCormack said tests carried out as part of the investigation so far were “small scale”, but added: “All I can say at the moment is they (tiles and insulation) don't pass any safety tests. | |
| “What we are being told at the moment by the Building Research Establishment is that the cladding and insulation failed all safety tests.” | “What we are being told at the moment by the Building Research Establishment is that the cladding and insulation failed all safety tests.” |
| Witnesses at the scene of the 24-storey fire on 14 June said a resident told neighbours his fridge had "exploded" while alerting them to the initial blaze. | Witnesses at the scene of the 24-storey fire on 14 June said a resident told neighbours his fridge had "exploded" while alerting them to the initial blaze. |
| Ms McCormack said police were still concerned they did not have a full picture of the number of people inside the building. | Ms McCormack said police were still concerned they did not have a full picture of the number of people inside the building. |
| At least 79 people were killed in the fire, but police are still appealing for information from members of the public to identify anyone else who might have been in the tower at the time of the tragedy. | |
| "What we haven't got is a picture of how many people might have been in there," Ms McCormack said. "That's the number I'm really worried about, that there might have been other innocent people in there." | |
| The statement echoed concerns from police commander Stuart Cundy about the scale of the task in identifying the victims. | The statement echoed concerns from police commander Stuart Cundy about the scale of the task in identifying the victims. |
| Police are still carrying out forensic searches on the block in an attempt to recover all those who may have died inside. But Ms McCormack warned the search may continue until the end of the year, and that not everyone may be able to be identified due to the intense heat. | |
| "We have been in Grenfell Tower, from top to bottom, last week. Next week we will be installing a lift to the outside of the building to assist. But our forensic search may not be complete until the end of the year," she said. | "We have been in Grenfell Tower, from top to bottom, last week. Next week we will be installing a lift to the outside of the building to assist. But our forensic search may not be complete until the end of the year," she said. |
| "There is a terrible reality that we may not find or identify everyone who died due to the intense heat." | "There is a terrible reality that we may not find or identify everyone who died due to the intense heat." |
| It comes as the Government announced cladding fitted to 600 council blocks across the UK would need to be urgently tested to determine if it is safe. | |
| So far tests have revealed at least 11 council-owned high rises in eight areas are fitted with similar combustible cladding to that used on Grenfell Tower after a "small number" of samples were analysed, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said. |