South Norwood man dodges jail despite sharing ‘grossly offensive’ video of cardboard Grenfell Tower burning

A father-of-two has pleaded guilty to sharing a video showing the burning of a cardboard effigy of Grenfell Tower on Bonfire Night.

Paul Bussetti, 49, of Sundial Avenue, South Norwood, admitted sending grossly offensive material via a public communications network at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

He was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 120 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,128 in court fees and victim surcharge.

Bussetti had previously been found not guilty following a two day trial in August 2019 but the acquittal was revoked by the High Court.

The footage was taken by Bussetti during an annual bonfire party hosted by a friend in November 2018 which he went on to share in WhatsApp groups.

The video showed a cardboard model of Grenfell Tower with people shown in the windows burning on the bonfire.

Several people were also heard making offensive and racist comments.

The footage was subsequently placed on wider social media channels by someone unknown and shared by thousands of people, who commented on how shocked and offended they were.

Det Supt Garry Moncrieff said: “Bussetti’s vile actions, mocking a disaster in which 71 people died, caused a huge amount of distress and offence to all those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire and beyond.

“All those who saw the video on social media were appalled and wanted the culprit to be identified and dealt with.

“Bussetti handed himself into police and claimed the video was a ‘sick joke’.

“I am sure it is beyond most people how something so appalling could be considered any kind of joke and that is clear from his conviction today.”

A victim impact statement on behalf of the Grenfell victims said: “The overall reaction of the Grenfell community was one of shock, horror and outrage.”

In a statement on Twitter, Grenfell United wrote: “Bussetti’s actions were despicable.

“They caused us more suffering when we were trying to heal.

“We are relieved to hear of the guilty plea and that there will be consequences to a horrific hate crime mocking the tragedy we went through.”