Grenfell: Six people arrested over burning of cardboard model; no-one arrested over 72 deaths
Six people have been arrested over a cardboard model of Grenfell Tower burning on Bonfire Night in someone’s private garden. Someone filmed the pre-medicated idiocy – the Tower was populated with paper faces stuck at the windows – and stuck it on WhatsApp. Lots of other people saw the video when it reached Twitter and Facebook, and became understandably upset. So six arrests have been made – that’s six more than have been arrested for any part in the actual fire in which 72 people lost their lives.
The six have been arrested on suspicion of committing a public order offence. Which offence is unclear. It could be a hate crime, but, then, what isn’t? Under the Public Order Act, racially or religiously aggravated offences carry a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine or both. What is the sentence for being a bellend who made a despicable video? Is making an offensive joke in private a crime? Maybe Theresa May, the actual prime minister, who called the video “utterly unacceptable”, can advise?
Burning effigies of people for a laugh. Artist Frank Shepherd puts the finishing touches to the Edenbrige Bonfire Society Celebrity Guy which has been unveiled as the model Jordan and featuring the faces of former husband Peter Andre and current partner Alex Reid.
On the video, onlookers can be heard shouting “Help me! Help me!” and “Jump out the window!” A kind soul says: “All the little ninjas getting it at the minute”. Ninjas appears to be a slight on Muslim women who wear the veil. Another quips: “That’s what happens when they don’t pay their rent.”
Police have been visibly concerned and swift to act. They swooped on a home in South Norwood, south London. Things were taken away. Moyra Samuels, from the Justice For Grenfell campaign group, say the video “doesn’t represent ordinary British people”. No-one said it did, did they? “But there is a worrying rise of racism in this country at the moment. And that is concerning, because it’s now starting to impact on us directly, which means that we actually need to be thinking what we do about this, and how we respond to this as a whole.”
If found guilty, the media and judiciary will name them. And we can all realise that we’re reading about people mocking others who died in horrific circumstances because it’s a rare event – thankfully – and not an inspiration.
UPDATE: The alleged nasties have been named in the media. The Times:
Five men aged 19-55 and from south London are being held on suspicion of public order offences after handing themselves into a police station last night. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are searching a property in South Norwood, south London, where two of the suspects, Clifford Smith, 49, and his son Bobbi Connell, 19, are believed to have hosted a bonfire night party on Saturday…
Mr Smith and Mr Connell were arrested with Paul Bussetti, also from south Norwood, a 49-year-old man from Lambeth and a 55-year-old man from Beckenham. All are suspected of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress under section 4a of the Public Order Act.
Mr Connell’s grandfather, David Connell, told Mail Online: “It’s an appalling thing to do given the tragic loss of life. It’s in dreadfully bad taste and utterly shocking and I don’t condone it at all. I don’t know what they were thinking.”
Posted: 6th, November 2018 | In: Key Posts, News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
