Outrage in Britain as video of Grenfell Tower being burned in effigy hits social media

Bonfire Night in Britain is supposed to be a fun way of commemorating the foiled plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. But a group of people in London have caused outrage across the country by burning a mock-up of the Grenfell Tower and laughing about the people who died in the 2017 fire.

A video posted on social media this week shows the group holding a cardboard model of the 24-storey apartment block, which went up in flames in June of last year, killing 72 people. The model has “Grenfell Tower” written across the top and paper figures of people in the windows. Members of the group put the model on a fire and laugh as it burns and falls over. Amid the laughter some can be heard saying, “Help me, help me!” and “Jump out the window!" One man cracks: “All the little ninjas getting it at the minute;" another adds, “That’s what happens when they don’t pay their rent.”

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The video prompted a police investigation, and on Monday evening, five men between the ages of 19 and 55 were arrested after turning themselves in. On Tuesday, police searched a home in South London where the bonfire is believed to have been lit last weekend. Those arrested face possible charges of causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress and could be sentenced to up to six months in jail.

“It’s a disgusting video,” said a statement from Grenfell United, a group representing survivors of the fire. “We hope that the police are taking this seriously. Not only is it extremely upsetting to survivors and people who lost family, it’s hateful and offensive to everyone that has been affected by the tragic events of that night.”

The video has been particularly disturbing for many people because the Grenfell tragedy has raised difficult issues about race and class in Britain. The social-housing complex was located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the wealthiest parts of the country. The residents, many of whom were refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and North Africa, often complained about being ignored, and the borough council has come under criticism for using cheap cladding on the building, which caused the fire to spread rapidly. Police are still investigating the fire and could file charges of corporate manslaughter. A public inquiry involving hundreds of witnesses and experts is also under way.

The chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, opened Tuesday’s session by calling the video “offensive” and adding that “it must be shocking and distressing to all those involved … whatever form their involvement took, whether as bereaved, survivors or indeed members of the wider community.”

Prime Minister Theresa May and London Mayor Sadiq Khan also condemned the video.

The actions of the group “upset so many people around the world, and they need to think long and hard,” Khadijah Mamudu, whose mother and younger brother escaped the fire, told reporters. "When one is ignorant of the world and people that are around them, they do the most stupid and vile things. Bringing up children in such an environment is cruel. We can’t change the way they think, but they need to understand they are the minority.”