Two illegal immigrants falsely claimed more than £120K for hotel and room service after pretending to be Grenfell Tower fire victims

Elaine Douglas, 51, and Tommy Brooks, 52, pleaded guilty to fraud.

Elaine Douglas, 51, and Tommy Brooks, 52 – both Jamaican nationals who had stayed in Britain illegally for 16 years – racked up staggering bills after being put up at a four-star West London hotel after the blaze – including spending almost £20,000 on credit cards.

The couple turned up at the support centre claiming they had narrowly escaped death from a flat on the 19th floor of the West London block, where 72 people died on June 14 last year.

They were housed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt in Kensington for eight months and issued with pre-paid credit cards and Oyster cards so they could travel around London for free.

Douglas even complained about the quality of the food at the four-star hotel – despite spending more than £267 on room service.

But the couple were caught out when they gave investigators the number of the flat they said they were in at the time of the blaze – not realising it was on the floor below.

Read more here from The Sun

Shameless conwoman said husband died in Grenfell Tower fire to claim handouts and free Hilton hotel stay.

The Grenfell Tower fire broke out on 14 June 2017 at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of public housing flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, West London. It caused at least 72 deaths, and over 70 injuries. Occupants of 23 of the 129 flats died. 223 people escaped. Inquests for 70 victims have been opened and adjourned at Westminster Coroner’s Court

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry held its first hearing on 14 September 2017, and evidential hearings started in October. Police and fire services believe the fire started accidentally in a fridge-freezer on the fourth floor. The rapid growth of the fire is thought to have been accelerated by the building’s exterior cladding, which at the time was of a common type in widespread use. An independent review of building regulations and fire safety was published on 17 May 2018. 

Emergency services received the first report of the fire at 00:54 local time. It burned for about 60 hours until finally being extinguished. More than 250 London Fire Brigade firefighters and 70 fire engines were involved from stations all across London in efforts to control the fire. Over 100 London Ambulance Service crews on at least 20 ambulances attended, joined by the specialist Hazardous Area Response Team. The Metropolitan Police Service and London’s Air Ambulance also assisted the rescue effort.

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