Man arrested after ‘pretending to have lost his wife, son and home in Grenfell Tower to get compensation’
He allegedly said his wife and son had died in the tragedy which has so far seen a total of 80 people dead
A MAN accused of pretending he lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire to get financial support and housing has been arrested.
He allegedly said his wife and son had died in the tragedy, which has so far seen a total of 80 people dead.
Hundreds lost their homes and all their possessions - this man allegedly tried to dupe the authorities into thinking he needed financial support, police have said.
He was assigned family liaison officers after he came forward to make the claims.
Cops began to look into his story when inconsistencies allegedly came to light, and residents of the West London tower block confirmed he did not live there.
Police found he had been living instead in Bromley at the time of the fire earlier this month.
He was arrested last night on suspicion of fraud.
Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack, said: "The distress and suffering caused to so many families and loved ones that night is harrowing.
"That night people lost their homes, all their possessions and tragically their families and loved ones.
"The focus of all of us should be on supporting victims and families, recovering loved ones from Grenfell Tower and investigating the fire.
"I have made it clear that we are not interested in investigating things such as sub-letting or immigration matters as I want their help - and do not want there to be any hidden victims of this tragedy.
"However, we will robustly investigate any information about anyone who seeks to capitalise on the suffering of so many."
Earlier this week we reported the family of one of the youngest victims of the Grenfell Tower inferno have paid tribute to their “beloved son”.
Little Isaac Paulous, aged five, died after choking on fumes from the fire, an inquest heard.
And a sick photo of a fake Grenfell Tower “memorial candle” was shared more than 100 times by vile Facebook trolls.
The picture shows the devastating remains of the flat block in Kensington, West London, mocked up as a lit candle with the wick on the top of the building.
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