Video firm apologises for editing out Grenfell Tower
A COMPANY has been forced to apologise after it edited Grenfell Tower from the skyline of a video.
The tower block fire in North Kensington in June 2017 killed 72 people.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman was among the dead, spotted the edit during the airing of a Voltarol pain relief advertisement.
The advert on Channel 4’s streaming service showed a group playing on Westway football pitches near the building. Mr Mussilhy said he immediately recognised the horizon, having grown up playing there.
Despite two other council towers remaining in the picture, Grenfell, which is wrapped in a large white sheet and banner saying “Forever in our hearts” had been scrubbed from the scene.
Mr Mussilhy told The Guardian: “It was really upsetting. It seems nobody wants to see it any more; that it’s an eyesore. The vibe I feel is that [people] want it gone.”
Upon closer inspection he and his wife said they noticed signs the clip had been edited. The Westway sports facility was used as a relief centre in the aftermath of the fire.
Haleon, a consumer health company, commissioned the advert, which has also been running on Channel 4’s terrestrial broadcasts. The company confirmed the editing had taken place and a spokesman said: “We are deeply sorry for any distress that our recent Voltarol advertisement may have caused. We will be taking the advert off air with immediate effect.”
Meanwhile, the Grenfell Tower public inquiry is not ready to publish its final report into the fire. So there will be further delays to a police investigation which could result in corporate manslaughter and gross negligence charges being brought. In total, 900 relatives and survivors last year received an average of £166,000 each after settling legal claims brought against those responsible, including the London Fire Commissioner.