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 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.
LIVE: Detective Ch Superintendent Fiona McCormack provides statement on the investigation into #GrenfellTower fire https://t.co/du4ff7CQHZ
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 23, 2017
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 offences 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 at the centre of the tragedy and followed witness reports from June 14 that one resident claimed his appliance was responsible.
Metropolitan Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack has just spoken about the #GrenfellTower fire – here's the latest pic.twitter.com/1iGtVxZCIB
— Press Association (@PA) June 23, 2017
Tests on the building’s material as part of the police investigation were “small scale”, the officer said, 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.”
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
The Government said at least 11 buildings across eight local authority areas in England were found to have flammable cladding.
"What we are being told at the moment… is that the cladding and insulation failed all safety tests." https://t.co/acKSCF8YLr
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) June 23, 2017
Towers in Camden, Manchester and Plymouth are among the at-risk buildings, Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid said in a letter to MPs.
Hundreds of further buildings are being tested by the Government to see if they pose a fire threat.
While the death toll remains at 79, Ms McCormack addressed concerns that many more had died and were unaccounted for in official figures.
She repeated calls for members of the public with information about people who may have been in the tower at the time of the fire to come forward.
(David Mirzoeff/PA)
An amnesty for people who may have been living in the tower illegally has been suggested, supported by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Ms McCormack said: “Every complete body has been removed from the building.”
She added: “I remain really concerned though that we do not have a complete picture.
“There may well be people who no one has contacted us about – who they know were in the building or have close links to Grenfell Tower.
“We are not interested in people’s reasons for not telling us sooner and as the mayor has already said people should be not be nervous about contacting us.
A Hotpoint FF175BP model was found to have been the fridge at the centre of the tragedy (Nick Ansell/PA)
“The Home Office has assured us that they are not interested in people’s immigration status and we are not interested in looking at that.
“What we are interested in is making sure that we know who is missing and we take every possible step to establish if they are safe and well.”
Describing how the investigation was proceeding, she added: “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.”
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