GRENFELL survivors and the bereaved gathered on Sunday to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the tower block fire that took the lives of 72 people.

They took part in a silent walk through west London before the victims’ names were read aloud near the site.

It will be the tragedy’s last annual commemoration before the shell of Grenfell is finally removed; work to take down the tower — expected to take about two years —started in September.

Police and prosecutors announced last month that up to 20 firms and 57 individuals could face criminal charges over failures that led to the fatal blaze.

The Metropolitan Police have pledged to bring any charges before the 10th anniversary next year.

Charges under consideration include corporate gross negligence manslaughter, fraud, health and safety breaches and misconduct in public office.

A public inquiry found the fire was avoidable, describing “decades of failure” by successive governments and the building industry, which did not act to mitigate the dangers of flammable materials on buildings.

Its final report in 2024 stated that victims, survivors and the bereaved were “badly failed” and that the tower block had been covered in combustible products because of “systematic dishonesty” by cladding and insulation producers.

At a memorial service at Notting Hill Methodist Church on Sunday, messages from Emanuela Disaro, the mother of Italian architect Gloria Trevisan, and the father of her boyfriend Marco Gottardi, Giannino, spoke of their loved ones who died in the fire.

Ms Disaro said: “We will never be able to forgive those who through greed, dishonesty and personal interest allowed themselves to be corrupted. It’s too long to get justice and when it happens, if it happens, it will always be too late.”