LONDON (AP) – British police said Thursday they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect that local authorities may have committed corporate manslaughter in a deadly high-rise fire in London.
The Metropolitan Police force said it has officially informed the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the Grenfell Tower public housing block, and the management group the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Association that they are under suspicion.
The news came in a letter from police sent to residents of the building. The letter said a senior representative of each body will be interviewed about the fire as part of the police investigation.
The police force confirmed to The Associated Press that the letter is genuine, but stressed it does not mean a decision has been made on whether to charge any individual or organization.
Police have said for weeks that their investigation will consider whether anyone should be charged with a crime. The force said Thursday it was “considering the full range of offences, from corporate manslaughter to regulatory breaches.”