Source:&nbsp Shutterstock The Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are considering commissioning a ‘full-scale replica’ of part of the Grenfell Tower to explain issues in criminal trials relating to the fire According to The Telegraph, the force’s senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Garry Moncrieff wrote to survivors and victims’ relatives stating that the model might be built. He wrote: ‘The police, CPS, and our team of experts have spent a lot of time thinking about how we could best help those jurors understand really complicated evidence and technical topics. ‘Part of my role is to work with the CPS, lawyers and experts to consider how best to present complex evidence to a jury, recognising that Grenfell Tower may no longer be there at the time of a trial.Advertisement ‘In addition to our photographs, video recordings and 3D scans, we are exploring the possibility of building a replica of a small section of the outside of Grenfell Tower. ‘This would enable us to show juries exactly what Grenfell Tower looked like when it was built and after it was refurbished. If we do build such a replica, I consider it essential that it is built to detailed specification and full-scale to help juries understand the case.’ The replica would be too large to display within court buildings so juries would travel to a warehouse to view it, the newspaper reported. In 2020, during the Grenfell Tower inquiry, architecture expert and former RIBA president Paul Hyett used a 1:5 scale model of the tower’s façade created by Pipers Model Makers to show the make-up of the cladding as it was installed and to highlight issues with its design. Hyett showed how the lack of fire breaks behind the new cladding around the nose of the columns had effectively created a vertical chimney – a gap that ran all the way up the building.Advertisement 1:5 model from the public inquiry showing a section of Grenfell Tower, from middle column (left) to corner (right). The area on the right is clad with rain screen panels, including around a window Although it has now been nearly eight years since 72 people died in the blaze in Kensington, west London, no one has been charged with any crime. The length of the public inquiry has been cited as one reason for the delay. Last May, the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service said no charges would be announced until late 2026 at the earliest, claiming they would need 12 to 18 months after the publication of the public inquiry’s findings in September before considering any potential corporate manslaughter or fraud charges. It is understood that 20 companies or organisations are under investigation over the disaster, along with 58 individuals. However, the news about the possible construction of a model – and the time it would take to build – has prompted criticism over the potential for further delays to the process. The Grenfell Next of Kin group for those bereaved by the tragedy said on X: ‘It’s nuts. Have they not heard of 3D modelling, AI, CGI etc.’ According to the report, Moncrieff’s letter also states that the cost of the police investigation is set to reach more than £100 million, with 180 investigators working on it. Grenfell Next of Kin added that its members had no faith in the process and that the police force was ‘making a mockery of justice’. It added: ‘The system needs reform if it can’t deliver justice after such epic and obvious failings.’ Maria Jaffari, who survived the fire in which her 82-year-old father Ali died, told The Telegraph: ‘Nearly eight years have passed and we still have no justice. We don’t know how many years it’s going to take, and no one knows who’s going to be alive for justice. Maybe not me, maybe not my mother.’ The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on Moncrieff’s ‘private letter’. In February, the government announced that the remains of the tower would be demolished due to structural safety concerns over a two-year period starting no earlier than the eighth anniversary of the fire in June. A memorial to the victims is planned to be established on the site. 2025-05-09 Ian Weinfass comment and share