Police consider manslaughter charges in tower horror wake

MANSLAUGHTER charges are being considered by detectives investigating the Grenfell Tower fire as it emerged the structure had failed fire safety tests.

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said a faulty fridge-freezer started the inferno, which has killed at least 79 people.

Cladding and insulation encasing the building did not pass any fire safety tests, she added, increasing concern the 24-storey block’s facade accelerated the blaze’s spread.

The revelation comes as a nationwide hunt for high-rise buildings with flammable cladding continues, with thousands of people finding their homes were potentially dangerous. By yesterday afternoon, the government said 14 buildings across nine local authority areas in England were found to have flammable cladding.

As police continued to unpick the roots of the disaster, Ms McCormack said a string of criminal offences were now being considered.

Documents and materials had been seized from a ‘number of organisations’, she added.

She said: “We are looking at every criminal offence from manslaughter onwards. We are looking at every health and safety and fire safety offence, and we are reviewing every company at the moment involved in the building and refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.”

A Hotpoint FF175BP model was found to have been the fridge-freezer at the centre of the tragedy and followed witness reports from June 14 that one resident claimed his appliance was responsible.