London Fire Brigade chiefs are interviewed under caution by police investigating Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72

  • Commissioner Dany Cotton says the survivors and the bereaved 'need answers' 
  • LFB was questioned as a corporate body - police did not interview individuals
  • Nobody has been charged in relation to the fire - two years since 72 people died
  • Scotland Yard predicted that it could be another two years before prosecutions 

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has revealed that the organisation she runs has been interviewed by police investigating the deaths in Grenfell Tower

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has revealed that the organisation she runs has been interviewed by police investigating the deaths in Grenfell Tower

The London Fire Brigade today revealed that its chiefs have been interviewed under caution by police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72.

Commissioner Dany Cotton said she recognised that survivors and the bereaved 'need answers' and that the fire service was committed to assisting investigators.

The capital's fire chief said LFB had been questioned as a corporate body as part of the Metropolitan Police's investigation into the blaze in West London in June 2017.

Nobody has been charged with any offences in relation to the worst fire in Britain for decades, two years on.   

Scotland Yard said this year that no prosecutions were likely to be brought for at least the next two years, arguing that it would be be 'wrong' not to wait for the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

But the second phase of the inquiry is not due to start until early next year, with the delay upsetting families of the dead, and survivors.

In a statement Ms Cotton said: 'We have always been subject to the Metropolitan Police investigation and I want to ensure it is accurately and publicly known the Brigade has now, voluntarily, given an interview 'under caution in relation to the Health and Safety at Work Act'.

'As the fire and rescue service attending the Grenfell Tower fire it is entirely correct that we are part of the investigation.

'Hundreds of firefighters, officers and control officers have already provided voluntary police interviews and we will continue to do all we can to assist investigators.

'The bereaved, survivors and residents need answers and we must all understand what happened and why to prevent communities and emergency services from ever being placed in such impossible conditions ever again.

'This was the largest residential fire London Fire Brigade has attended in its history and we will also continue to ensure firefighters, officers and control officers and other Brigade staff are supported throughout this investigation and the on-going Public Inquiry.'

The scorched shell of Grenfell in west London, where 72 people lost their lives two years ago

The scorched shell of Grenfell in west London, where 72 people lost their lives two years ago

The Brigade said it was invited to give an interview as a corporate body, rather than an as individual, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

It said it wanted to make the information public as part of its 'commitments to transparency' and efforts to help 'in every way possible to prevent such a devastating fire from ever happening again'.

In June, The Metropolitan Police revealed that 13 interviews had been carried out under caution by detectives leading the criminal investigation into the Grenfell fire.

Police said they would not be disclosing how many individuals the 13 interviews concerned and that more interviews were scheduled.

The force said that just over 7,100 statements have been taken from witnesses, community and family members, emergency services personnel and others as part of its probe. 

In response to the London Fire Brigade making public they have been interviewed under caution by the police over the Grenfell tower fire, Grenfell United, the survivors and bereaved families group said: 'A year ago this month the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade Dany Cotton upset many survivors and bereaved families with her comment that the LFB 'wouldn't develop a training package for a space shuttle landing on the Shard' suggesting such a fire was inconceivable.

'This was despite many warnings following previous fires, including the Lakanal House fire that killed six people. It is only right that serious questions are being asked of the LFB.

'It's been 27 months since the fire that killed 72 people. The first inquiry report is yet to be published and so far there have been no arrests. We have been very patient but in the months ahead we need to see organisations and individuals being brought to account, lessons being learnt and changes being made.'

The people who perished in the worst fire in Britain for a generation in June 2017

The people who perished in the worst fire in Britain for a generation in June 2017

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE AND HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED?

The 24-storey Grenfell Tower block on fire in June 2017 

The 24-storey Grenfell Tower block on fire in June 2017 

A blaze tore through the 24-storey Grenfell tower block in west London in the early hours of June 14, 2017 after a fire began on the kitchen of a fourth floor flat. 

The exterior of the tower in north Kensington was quickly engulfed in flames before consuming the interior of the block, with firefighters responding to a fire after it was reported at 00:54 BST (23:54 GMT).

The fire started on the fourth floor and was not deliberate.

After official death toll figures were challenged in the emotionally-charged weeks after the fire, police said the final figure for the number of victims was 71, with more than 200 people managing to escape.

Police said there should have been 350 people in the block at the time of the fire, with 14 residents not home at the time. 

There were 120 homes in the tower block that were destroyed including more in the surrounding area. 

Around 200 firefighters were sent to fight the blaze and rescue those still trapped inside, with 65 people rescued. 

A public inquiry opened on September 14 into the cause and spread of the fire. 

Flammable cladding - installed on Grenfell Tower in a recent renovation - was slammed by experts who recently explained in the inquiry that it's incorrect installation contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.

Around 200 firefighters were sent to fight the blaze and rescue those still trapped inside. Fire and rescue workers at a one minute silence by Grenfell Tower in west Londo in the days following the blaze

Around 200 firefighters were sent to fight the blaze and rescue those still trapped inside. Fire and rescue workers at a one minute silence by Grenfell Tower in west Londo in the days following the blaze

In a report five fire safety experts examined the fire and gave their views on how the fire started, how it spread and why so many people were killed.

Dr Barbara Lane, an expert commissioned by the Grenfell Tower inquiry, delivered an excoriating assessment of the refurbishment which finished a year before the fire.

The rainscreen cladding put on the building used material that did not meet fire safety standards, while the system as a whole was not capable of effectively preventing the inferno spreading, she found.

Another expert, Professor Luke Bisby, found a series of problems with refurbishment work carried out on Grenfell before the fire.

Prof Bisby said the main reason the fire spread was the polyethylene-filled ACM rainscreen in the cladding.

A public inquiry, led by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is taking place , looking at the adequacy of regulations, the tower's refurbishment and the response of the emergency services in the immediate aftermath. 

Hundreds of people are still without a home with many Grenfell residents living in hotels and temporary accommodation a year on. 

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