Grenfell Tower ‘squatter’ who claimed to have helped people escape burning tower convicted of fraud

Alvin Thompson ‘diverted funds away from true survivors of the fire, betraying the trust of everyone who gave him assistance’, CPS says

A man who falsely pretended to have slept rough in the stairwell of Grenfell Tower and to have helped people to escape the fatal June 2017 fire has been convicted of fraud.

Alvin Thompson presented himself to council workers six weeks after the fire that left 72 people dead, claiming to have been sleeping rough within the building for a number of years.

Prosecutors said his "web of lies" included telling staff that he used communal plug sockets there to charge his phone or make toast.

The 51-year-old further claimed the blaze had forced him to relocate to a nearby cemetery, and that a burn on his hand had been caused by the fire.

Over the next year, the Islington resident proceeded to claim £88,860.27 in support from Kensington and Chelsea council, including £59,949-worth of luxury hotel room stays during a nine-month period.

He even turned down temporary rented homes and was later given a permanent flat, which he demanded be renovated on the council's dime.

However, a forensic review of CCTV footage failed to show any sign of Thompson having lived in Grenfell Tower, or having helped people to escape the blaze.

Adeniyi Ogunleye, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Alvin Thompson spun a web of lies and took advantage of a community tragedy to make a gain for himself.

“When council workers questioned his story, Thompson would become emotional about the trauma he had supposedly suffered or accuse them of being discriminatory towards him.

“However, the prosecution case was able to demonstrate that Thompson had never lived inside Grenfell Tower.

“In fact, an analysis of CCTV footage months ahead of the fire did not establish a single sighting of Thompson entering or leaving the tower.

“Thompson carried out his fraud for a year, diverting funds away from the true survivors of the fire and betraying the trust of everyone who gave him assistance.

"When someone is dishonest in this way it is only right that they are held to account by the justice system.”

Thompson is due to be sentenced on 28 November at Isleworth Crown Court.