On 14 June 2017, a deadly blaze erupted through Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey residential block in North London, which claimed the lives of 72 people and left dozens injured. Amongst those who died, 18 were children.
Shortly after the fire, then-Prime Minister Theresa May ordered an inquiry to uncover what had happened leading up to the tragedy – and seven years later, Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s 1700-page report catalogued a “decade of failure”, citing issues within government, building companies and manufacturers which led to Grenfell becoming the UK’s deadliest residential fire since the Blitz in World War II.
Has anyone been held to account for the Grenfell tragedy?
At the time of writing, there have been no arrests or criminal charges levelled against any individual in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire, with the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service stating it is unlikely any charges will be announced before the end of 2026 (at the earliest) due to the sheer “scale and complexity” of the case.
It leaves those who lost loved ones in the fire with an agonising wait for justice, particularly as it looks set to take more than a decade since the incident before anyone will head to court, if indeed any criminal charges are brought.
Olaide Sadiq, the documentary maker behind Grenfell: Uncovered, knows how acutely the frustration of the community is felt. She worked closely alongside many families who lived in Grenfell during the time of the fire in order to make the new Netflix film exploring the case.
“There's still very much a community who are waiting for answers, that are waiting for justice, and their story doesn't feel resolved,” she tells Cosmopolitan UK. “They've not had any closure, and for a number of people in the community directly affected by Grenfell, there's a resounding sense of people wanting justice, wanting answers and wanting their story to be kept alive, particularly when many feel like it’s being erased.”
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How did race and class impact the Grenfell case?
In 2020, Leslie Thomas, a lawyer representing the bereaved families of Grenfell, urged the inquiry to not dismiss the impact of race and class, and how it may have contributed to the deaths of Grenfell’s 72 victims.
“The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum,” Thomas said in a statement at the inquiry, as reported by the BBC.
“A majority of the Grenfell residents who died were people of colour. Grenfell is inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room. This disaster happened in a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.
"Yet the community affected was predominantly working-class. That is the stark reality that cannot be ignored.”
While Iqbal acknowledges that there is an ongoing criminal investigation which is taking place, she knows there’s a similar sentiment amongst the people she spoke to as part of Grenfell: Uncovered. They feel their social standing may have impacted the path to justice.
“It's definitely a community that has felt that their class, their race, their culture has played a part in why they were treated the way they were in the lead up to Grenfell, and some believe that's why they've been treated in a particular way since the fire as well,” she says.
“But making the documentary… we saw how complicated Grenfell is. It’s not like there’s a single person you can go and slap handcuffs on. I think because there's just that many people involved, and when a case is so big and goes back for so many decades, it’s tricky to know where to start.
“As the inquiry concluded, so many different factors, in one way or another, contributed to the fire. But I understand the frustration to the community. When you go out and see that people have gone on to do bigger and maybe better things despite their actions or inactions that led to the fire, it’s definitely frustrating.
“It’s why those with big platforms, and hopefully this documentary, can keep Grenfell in people’s mouths and minds, as it’s something everyone should care about.”
Grenfell: Uncovered is available on Netflix now
Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper’s Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.
