Grenfell Tower: Residents Plead With Visitors To Stop Taking Selfies At Fire Scene

'It shows how f**ked our society is.'
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Grieving residents have erected a sign imploring visitors not to take selfies at the smoking ruin of Grenfell Tower.

The sign appeared as the official number of people dead and missing presumed dead rose to 79.

Five of those 79 people have so far been formally identified, the Met Police confirmed on Monday morning.

A view inside the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in north Kensington
A view inside the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in north Kensington
PA Wire/PA Images

Lorraine Warrington, who lives on the nearby Silchester estate, told Metro: “This is not the time or place to take selfies – in front of a tower block where my friends passed away.

“I understand people have come to pay their respects, even if they didn’t know anyone we all feel this could happen anywhere.

“But there are some people who just keep taking photographs and filming all the time like tourists. It’s disrespectful.”

The sentiment was echoed on Twitter, with users branding them “a disgrace” and one even suggesting they would be “going straight to hell.”

As anger continued in the wake of the disaster, described by London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “preventable accident”, the Government announced those left homeless will be given at least £5,500 from an emergency fund.

Residents will be given £500 in cash followed by a bank payment for the rest from Monday and the money will come from the £5 million fund announced by Theresa May on Friday.

While they welcomed the funding, a group of residents who met May in Downing Street at the weekend said they had not been consulted before the latest announcement, adding that it continued a “tendency to sideline residents’ views”.

Messages of solidarity and calls for justice are being left close to the scene of the blaze
Messages of solidarity and calls for justice are being left close to the scene of the blaze
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

Earlier the group, made up of survivors of the fire, evacuees from nearby buildings, volunteers and community leaders, criticised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation for its reaction to the disaster.

In a statement to the Press Association, they said: “With the exception of very few junior officers, the estate managers have been invisible in the aftermath of the tragedy.”

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