Grenfell death toll may fall as 'fraudsters have invented missing loved ones'

The death toll from Grenfell Tower may fall because some of those missing have been invented by fraudsters, the police have revealed.

There are eight people who have either been charged or are under investigation for fraud in relating to the inferno which ripped through the west London fire block.

Whilst some of those claim to have lost their homes to "get benefit" others have claimed to have lost loved ones, police confirmed.

Officers said that these claims will contribute to the fact that they now believe that less than 80 people died in the fire.

Commander Stuart Cundy said the progress made in terms of recovering remains was "much higher" than he had expected three months ago.

Some 60 of the estimated 80 people killed in the fire have been formally identified, he said, adding that the exact figure would not be known until the investigation was complete.

He said the 80 figure "may come down a little bit" due to the recoveries made from the tower, the number of identifications made and video evidence from the night.

CCTV viewed by police showed that 240 people left the tower between midnight and 8am on the night of the fire.

But, he said, there could still be people with no social or family connection outside of the tower, and not on any official lists, who therefore could still be within the high-rise.

He declined to put a number on how many the death count could fall by.