A Mail Online article about a man whose faulty fridge allegedly started the Grenfell Tower fire has prompted about 1,300 complaints to the press watchdog.

The Mail Online article, which has allegedly been toned down overnight, focuses on the actions and behaviour of Behailu Kebede, whose fourth floor flat is thought to be where the blaze started.



The Independent Press Standards Organisation has received around 1,300 complaints, a number expected to climb, with the overwhelming majority relating to privacy and harassment clauses in the editors’ code. A number of complaints focus on intrusion into grief and shock.



A spokesman for Mail Online said the article was not out to blame Kebede and that its coverage was in line with that of other media including tabloids such as The Sun.

“In common with several other media outlets MailOnline identified where and how the Grenfell Tower fire started,” said the spokesman. “It attached no blame whatsoever to the occupant of that flat and in fact details how he raised the alarm and alerted his neighbours personally. It didn’t seem to us that naming the resident would be seen as blaming him since we did not see how any reasonable person could possibly hold him responsible.”

The article ranks among the top five most complained-about to Ipso.

The most complained-about article remains the Sun’s front page claim that one in five British Muslims supported people who have gone to Syria to fight for jihadi groups such as Islamic State. Ipso ruled that the article, which attracted about 3,000 complaints, was significantly misleading.

Ipso will assess the complaints and the Mail Online article to decide whether to launch a full investigation into a potential breach of the editors’ code.

“For the record MailOnline believes that, while much is still unclear, the blame for this tragedy lies squarely with those responsible for managing and renovating the tower and the authorities in charge of the policies and safety regulations within which they were operating,” said the Mail Online spokesman. “This has been and remains the focus of MailOnline’s extensive coverage from the outset.”

The Mail Online said that the article had not been toned down in any way since its original publication.