Detectives begin searching home of Grenfell bonfire suspects as sixth man is arrested over YouTube footage

A sixth person was arrested last night in connection with the burning of an effigy of Grenfell Tower, as detectives raided the property where the "sickening" incident took place.

Three plain clothes police officers spent two hours at the home of Clifford Smith, 49, and his 19-year-old son, Bobbi Connell, in south east London, before leaving with three bags of evidence.

The pair handed themselves into police on Monday night along with three other party goers, after a national outcry was sparked when a video was uploaded to social media showing a group of people allegedly jeering as they burnt an effigy of Grenfell Tower.

Last night a 19-year-old became the sixth person detained and was also being questioned by detectives.

Scotland Yard said the men had been arrested on suspicion of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress under section 4a of the Public Order Act.

It is thought the searches of the house may have been ordered in an attempt to ascertain whether any hate crime had been committed and whether the offences may have been racially aggravated.

An aerial view of the smart detached property showed an England flag attached to a flagpole, lying yards from an area of charred lawn where the bonfire is thought to have taken place on Saturday night.

The video is thought to have been taken by a guest at the private bonfire party before being uploaded to the WhatsApp messaging site and then being shared more widely.

On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the video as "utterly unacceptable", while the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid said he was "disgusted".

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy, who is leading the investigation into the Grenfell disaster, also said he was "frankly appalled by the callous nature" of the video.

But some commentators questioned the scale of the investigation given that police in south east London have had to deal with four tragic murders in a matter of days.

The incident also follows a fierce debate over whether the police should concentrate on core policing rather than spend time investigating so called hate crimes.

Retired Met detective chief inspector, Colin Sutton, said the incident created a headache for the police who were desperately trying to focus their attention on the fight against violent crime in the area.

Mr Sutton said: "I have sympathy for the police because they are damned if they do and damned it they don't. This was a terrible and unforgivable thing to do but there is a question over whether it breaks the law.

"Perhaps the best way of dealing with this is for the culprits to be named and shamed because trying to police bad taste - even it is the most extreme bad taste - is not necessarily an effective use of  limited resources, when the Met has got more important things to deal with."

The footage, which emerged on Monday, shows a large flammable model marked "Grenfell Tower", complete with paper figures at the windows, being set on fire.

In the video clip posted online, raucous laughter can be heard off camera as the model is set alight.

A total of 72 people died as a result of the Grenfell tragedy in west London on June 14 last year.

The chairman of the public inquiry into the fire, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, called the video "offensive" as he opened yesterday's hearing.

He said: "The inquiry is aware of the offensive video that was posted online yesterday.

"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.

"I am very pleased to hear that the authorities are taking the matter very seriously and that an investigation is underway."