How to look for records of... Records of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry

1. Why use this guide?

This guide sets out the context for records of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that are held by The National Archives. This guide also touches on relevant records that are preserved by the wider archive sector.

The Inquiry was set up to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower, in North Kensington, West London on the night of 14 June 2017. The focus of the Inquiry was to investigate the cause and origin of the fire, the means by which it was able to spread throughout the building and how the building came to be in a condition which allowed that to happen. Related matters, such as the responses of the London Fire brigade, the scope and effectiveness of the building regulations and the responses of central and local government to the disaster, formed part of the Terms of Reference.

The focus for this guide is the records of the public inquiry that have been transferred to The National Archives having been selected by the Inquiry Chairman and in line with The National Archives’ Records Collection Policy. The records have been transferred to The National Archives in line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the Inquiry Rules 2006, and the Public Records Act 1958. They have been managed in line with current information rights legislation.

2. Where to go for further support, if you have been affected by the content of these records/and or the disaster

Records from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry include content that some people may find distressing. If you have been affected by these records, you can find useful advice on looking after your mental health and wellbeing on the NHS Every Mind Matters website and from the mental health charity Mind.

3. What was the Grenfell Tower Fire?

In the early hours of Wednesday 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in the kitchen of Flat 16 Grenfell Tower, a high-rise residential building in North Kensington, West London. The fire claimed the lives of 71 people who were present in the tower that night, including the life of a child who was stillborn shortly after his mother had escaped and had been admitted to hospital. Another resident who had escaped from the building died seven months later. A total of 227 people in all (residents and visitors) escaped from the tower.

4. The Public Inquiry

On the morning after the fire the Prime Minister announced that there would be a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the fire and on the 28 June 2017 Sir Martin Moore-Bick, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, was appointed to act as the Inquiry Chairman. On 15 August 2017, the Inquiry was formally set up under the Inquiries Act 2005.

The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were set by the Prime Minister on 15 August 2017 on the recommendation of the Chairman. The Terms of Reference can also be found in the UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry formally opened on 14 September 2017. The Inquiry was split into two phases. Phase 1 focused on the events on the night of 14 June 2017 and the Phase 1 report was published on 30 October 2019. Phase 2 examined the underlying causes of the disaster, including the decisions made in relation to critical aspects of the design and construction of the cladding system, the adequacy of the regulatory regime and the response of central and local government. The Phase 2 report was published on 4 September 2024.

5. What are these records?

Under the Inquiry Rules 2006 the Chairman of the Inquiry has a duty to transfer custody of the Inquiry record to a government department or to the appropriate public record office, in this case The National Archives, as directed by the sponsoring minister, in this case, the Prime Minister. On the recommendations of the Chairman, the Prime Minister directed that all evidence disclosed to core participants in the Inquiry, together with other documents the Chairman considered significant in explaining the conduct of the Inquiry, be transferred to The National Archives for permanent preservation.

The records of the Grenfell Inquiry have been through the process of appraisal, selection, and sensitivity review before being transferred to The National Archives for permanent preservation in line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the Inquiry Rules 2006 and following the direction and wishes of the Inquiry Chairman.

Evidence was received during both phases of the Inquiry. All documents received as evidence by the Inquiry which were deemed relevant to the terms of reference were disclosed to core participants in the Inquiry throughout its course. Evidence that was referred to in the Inquiry hearings, or referenced in the Inquiry reports or published on the Inquiry website was selected for permanent preservation. These records were selected by the Chairman for permanent preservation and were transferred to The National Archives.

Some of the evidence predates the establishment of the Inquiry itself, sometimes by several decades. Where physical documents were scanned and provided to the Inquiry in digital format, the dates reflect the dates of the original records.

While the Inquiry was using the records they were managed within a document management system and each document was given a unique reference number. Reports, transcripts, and recordings of public hearings may use these unique reference numbers when referring to the records. The unique reference numbers can also be used when searching The National Archives online catalogue or within the UK Government Web Archive.

The contents of the Inquiry website and the recordings of the Inquiry hearings on the Inquiry YouTube Channel have been captured in the UK Government Web Archive.

In addition to those already published on the Inquiry website, certain administrative records of the Inquiry are being transferred to The National Archives. These include the Solicitor to the Inquiry’s letter to all core participants, which explains the conduct of the Inquiry. Administrative records of the Inquiry were managed within shared drives on the Inquiry Google workspace platform. The Inquiry also created video content, and this has been transferred to The National Archives and made available via The National Archives online catalogue.

The Inquiry commissioned and used a physical model of a typical bay of the external façade of Grenfell Tower. This model has also been transferred to The National Archives.

6. Supporting sensitivity and transparency

As part of preparing its records for transfer to The National Archives, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has undertaken a comprehensive review of the content of each record to ensure they are managed in line with information rights legislation.

All decisions to ‘close’ information, either in whole or in part (i.e. through withholding an item entirely, or through applying redactions) have been made in line with the exemptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Exemptions). ‘Closed’ information may include things like an individual’s personal data, as defined by data protection legislation, or material which might endanger the physical or mental health or safety of an individual if it were to be disclosed. Where information has been withheld this will be for a defined period of time and records will be reassessed at the end of this period to determine whether the closed or redacted content can be opened to the public. Where records have been closed, this is indicated at record level in our online catalogue. Where the Inquiry has cited the name of an individual in the description field in The National Archives’ online catalogue the name may be used and is searchable in our online catalogue descriptions. This reflects the way that personal data was managed by the Inquiry and reflects the handling of names on the inquiry website.

Because of the potentially distressing nature of some of these records, we have added an advisory note to the relevant online series descriptions and at individual records/pieces.

7. How to access records held at The National Archives

The records of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry can be accessed using The National Archives’ online catalogue. Most of the records are held in digital format and (unless closed to public access) are available online.

The National Archives’ online catalogue will indicate the format of the record. If you need further help using our catalogue, please consult Discovery help.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry records are catalogued within the following series:

GTI 1 contains the archived website of the Inquiry. You can also search the UK Government Web Archive.

GTI 2 contains evidence considered by the Inquiry. Search or browse descriptions in our catalogue

GTI 3 contains the administrative records of the Inquiry. Search or browse descriptions in our catalogue

GTI 4 contains the archived YouTube channel of the Inquiry. You can also search the Social Media Archive.

GTI 5 contains the archived Twitter (X) channel of the Inquiry. You can also search the Social Media Archive

GTI 6 contains a physical scale model of a typical bay of the external façade of Grenfell Tower as commissioned by the Inquiry.

8. Public inquiry reports

The Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry reports can be found in the UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives. For more details, visit the Archive Timeline on the UK Government Web Archive.

The Chairman published his phase one report on 30 October 2019; the phase two report was published on 4 September 2024.

9. Other UK Government Web Archive resources

The UK Government Web Archive at The National Archives holds other Grenfell Tower resources.

On the 26^th February 2025, the government published their response to the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, accepting the findings and setting out their plan to act on all the 58 recommendations. The government response can be found in the Archive Timeline  on the UK Government Web Archive.

The Grenfell health and welfare website can be found in the Archive Timeline on the UK Government Web Archive.

The NHS North Kensington Health and Wellbeing information can be found in the Archive Timeline is on the UK Government Web Archive.

10. Other sources

We have provided links to other relevant local authorities’ websites and search facilities, where further information on local projects as well as records that are preserved by the wider archive sector can be found. This list is not exhaustive.

• The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has a homepage that brings together the diverse perspectives and experiences of the bereaved, survivors, and the North Kensington community. You can find more information on the Independent Review of building regulations and fire safety conducted in May 2018 on the UK Government Web Archive.
• The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea offers archives and local studies, including a catalogue search and the North Kensington Social Justice Archive project.
• The Bishopsgate Institute has a homepage dedicated to the North Kensington Archive and Heritage project.
• The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has a section on its website dedicated to the Grenfell Tower fire. This includes RIBA’s statements and responses, actions taken in the profession since the incident, and a searchable main website. RIBA Competitions is also running a competition to design the memorial. Additionally, RIBA has responded to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report phase 2 on its website. Researchers can find all necessary information if they would like to visit the RIBA library.