Man arrested after 'taking pictures of the dead' at Grenfell tower block

A 43-year-old man has been arrested over allegations he posted pictures of a Grenfell Tower victim on social media.

Images were posted of what appear to be a partially-covered body following the fatal blaze in north Kensington, west London.

At least 17 people are known to have died as fire ripped through the 24-storey building in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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The Metropolitan Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of sending malicious communications and obstructing a coroner.

Firefighters are searching the building for survivors (PA)

Grenfell Tower was home to hundreds of people (PA)

Officers confirmed the arrest relates to the fire at Grenfell Tower and the man is in custody at a west London police station.

The death toll from the devastating tower block fire in west London is expected to rise as investigators trawl through the wreckage in the search for other victims.

Firefighters at a scene of a fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London, Britain, June 14, 2017. (Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA)

More than £1 million has been raised to help those affected as fire tore through the 24-storey building while volunteers and charities helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes overnight.

A wall of condolence was put up near the scene with photographs showing dozens of messages left for loved ones.

Residents’ groups have claimed they voiced concerns about the safety of the building, which had been recently refurbished, while those who escaped complained their fire alarms had not been set off by the blaze.

One focus for the investigation will be the building’s cladding, which TV architect George Clarke said may have accelerated the blaze.

Mr Clarke, who lives locally and appears on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces, told BBC’s Newsnight: ” I saw those cladding panels, the cladding on the outside and the insulation was just peeling off, like you’d peel a banana.

“It was fully on fire. I could see the flames behind – there’s a new cladding system put on the outsides that looks like a new skin, there’s an air gap an insulation behind that, to me that looks like a fantastic chimney for the fire to rage around.”

When questioned about residents’ worries about fire safety at the block, the council’s deputy leader Rock Feilding-Mellen told the BBC: “My understanding is that their concerns were looked at and officers and the TMO (tenant management organisation) made inquiries and felt we had done what was necessary.”

Meanwhile, work is continuing to tackle “pockets of fire” in the block, with several residents reporting one man had said it started in his faulty fridge.