A man accused of distributing a video of a burning Grenfell Tower effigy has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
Landlord Paul Bussetti, 46, of South Norwood, was acquitted of two charges of sending/causing to be sent grossly offensive material via a public communications network, contrary to section 127(1)(a) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003.
The charges related to a video of a burning Grenfell Tower effigy, which circulated on social media towards the start of November 2018.
The 3 minute long video depicted a four foot tall cardboard mock up of the Grenfell Tower, complete with victims waving for help at the windows, being lowered onto a bonfire and set alight.
A group of people could be heard laughing and joking in the background as flames took hold of the model.
Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot, the Chief Magistrate, presided over the two day trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
The prosecution argued that the video, which showed the model of the tower with black and brown cardboard figures of people inside as it burned, was racist in nature. While the court heard he had used racial epithets in private chats, Bussetti denied holding racist views.
Bussetti claimed it was a joke and that the characters were actually misunderstood references to him and his friends. Giving evidence earlier today, he said it was "certainly not the case" that the figures in the cardboard model, which had "Grenfell Tower" written on it, were meant to be those who died in the fire.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was criticised after its last minute revelation that two other individuals had told police that the cardboard figures represented Bussetti and his friends.
The CPS was also late in disclosing the existence of a second video of the incident, which cast into doubt whether the video made by Bussetti was actually the one that went viral online.
Judge Arbuthnot said: "I am just appalled at the disclosure in this case," adding that it was "highly unsatisfactory to say the least".
Acquitting Bussetti, she said: "I cannot be sure the video relied on by the Crown is the one taken by the defendant."
She added that she could not be sure that the cardboard figures in the burning model were not meant to represent Bussetti and his friends.
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