Grenfell Tower lies saw burglar swap jail for top hotel

A burglar swapped jail for a four-star hotel after lying to a judge about living in Grenfell Tower.

Derrick Peters, 58, was put up in the Park Grand hotel in Paddington, west London, after claiming to have lost his friend and all his possessions in the blaze on June 14 last year.

Police found items stolen from a couple's west London flat in his £192-a-night room, where he ran up a £40,000 bill over six months for room service and accommodation.

He was arrested on August 10 but the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea continued to pay for his hotel for two months while he was held on remand in Wandsworth prison.

Peters pleaded guilty to burglary but was freed when he was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on October 16 last year after writing to the judge repeating his Grenfell lies.

At the time, Judge Simon Davis sentenced him to a 12-month community order and said: "How on earth can one even begin to understand what it is like to lose a friend in a tragedy like Grenfell?"

Peters returned to the hotel where he stayed until he was finally evicted on December 16.

He appeared at the same court on Thursday to plead guilty to one count of perverting the court of justice and two counts of fraud.

Prosecutor Ben Holt said Peters told officials on June 28 he had been living with his friend Steve Power at the time of the deadly blaze, which left 72 people dead.

Mr Power was a genuine Grenfell resident who died in the fire along with his three dogs, while his daughter Rebecca Ross escaped.

She told police Peters had never lived with them.

Mr Holt said: "The prosecution's case is founded on the fact that Peters does not have any links to the Grenfell Tower. He did not stay there. The representations he made, therefore, to receive accommodation and subsistence were false.

"The mitigation was also false. It was designed to con the learned judge into passing a more lenient sentence than would have otherwise been the case. That plan was successfully executed; he received a community order."

The prosecutor read a statement from Edward Daffarn, a member of the Grenfell United survivors group, who said he was left "sickened" by what Peters has done.

He said: "It is upsetting beyond words to know the tragedy of Grenfell Tower is being used by individuals so that they can exploit our misery for their own gain. It pours salt on the wounds of ex-residents."

Referring to the statement, Judge Robin Johnson described the public's "horror" at such offending, adding: "I can hardly think of a fraud which would meet with greater revulsion."

The court heard Peters has 40 convictions for 90 offences, including 24 for fraud and 73 for theft.

His barrister Iona Nedelcu said he turned to drugs after losing his cousin in the early 1990s, adding: "He is deeply ashamed."

CPS prosecutor Kate Mulholland, said: "Derrick Peters lied about staying in Grenfell to benefit from aid and assistance meant for true survivors of the fire.

"He then used the same lie to mislead a court and avoid a prison sentence, a serious offence in itself but which also allowed him to continue to defraud the taxpayer by claiming more accommodation.

"Our prosecution was able to prove Peters's calculated dishonesty leading to the guilty pleas."

Peters will be sentenced on Friday.