Revealed: Organiser of fake funeral at historic London church is a convicted paedophile who held a similar event making children as young as six 'faint' as he paraded up and down a pretend red carpet

The organiser of a mysterious fake funeral with an empty coffin and extras as mourners is a convicted paedophile who caused outrage last year by staging a similar event involving children, MailOnline can reveal.

The extraordinary story emerged today of how a vicar halted a funeral at the famous London Oratory in Brompton Road this week on discovering that the whole thing was fake - prompting widespread speculation about who was behind the bizarre event.

Now MailOnline has learned that the chief 'mourner' who organised the fake funeral is sex offender Jacky Jhaj - who has a reputation for similar stunts.

Jhaj, 38, was behind a similarly bizarre event last November when a fake red carpet scene was shot in London's West End which saw 90 children and dozens more teenage extras hired to provide a crowd to be filmed.

Dozens of child actors as young as six were recruited as supposed film extras dressed in school uniforms and asked to pretend to faint as Jhaj paraded up and down wearing a red tuxedo as if he were a film star at a premier outside the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square.

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Convicted paedophile Jacky Jhaj, 38, organised the bizarre fake funeral with an empty coffin and 

Those taking part were not aware of the identity of the man they were to pretend to cheer for and be fans of - or that he had been jailed for preying on schoolgirls in 2016.

The sexual predator, from Feltham, had claimed to be a top Hollywood film producer as he befriended two 15 year old schoolchildren, plying them with alcohol and giving them lifts to parties, before going on to sexually assault them.

Father Rupert McHardy who was conducting the ceremony said of the man who organised it 'I saw him in the church and he was wearing dark glasses and whenever I looked at him he turned away. 'I have no idea who he is and why he would do such a thing.'

Father McHardy, 49, had prepared a sermon and was in his robes, ready to start the service when the choirmaster took him aside.

However, while Lauris Zaube is a 23-year-old Latvian man who went missing after a New Year's Eve party near an iced-over dam, his body has seemingly not yet been found. 

When MailOnline showed pictures of Jhaj at that Leicester Square event to another church regular who witnessed Monday's funeral at the Chelsea church, they immediately replied: 'That's him. He's the guy who was organising the funeral. Definitely the same man who did the Leicester Square fake film premier'.

A film industry source who knows of Jhaj told us: 'This man is not a film star or a pop star. He's a a self-aggrandising fantasist and conman. The motivation last time when he hired all those children in Leicester Square seems to have been to boost the profile of his alter ego on social media. I have no idea what he was trying to do here but it's certainly the same kind of fake enterprise.'

Meanwhile MailOnline has learned that the firm of undertakers were paid more than £10,000 up front to carry out Monday's fake funeral.

The five figure fee was paid in advance by bank transfer to T. Cribb and Sons in the days before they were to take part in the funeral.

The funeral directors have now passed on all that they know about the organiser to the Met Police who are understood to be investigating what happened on suspicion of fraud.

Jhaj previously held a similar event in which he hired young girls to pretend to faint as he walked up and down a red carpet

Dozens of child actors as young as six were recruited as supposed film extras dressed in school uniforms for the event

The funeral was meant to be that of 23-year-old Latvian man Lauris Zaube (pictured). However, while it is true Lauris has been missing since New Year's Eve, his body has seemingly not been found as the funeral's organiser allegedly claimed

Father Rupert McHardy, 49, (pictured) had prepared a sermon and was in his robes, ready to start the service at the London Oratory on Brompton Rd, South Kensington, when the choirmaster took him aside

Some of the mourners – who turned out to be hired actors – have not been paid for attending the funeral service at the London Oratory. Several are understood to have gone to police after not being paid.

Staff at the East London based funeral directors never met the man who had paid the fee.

The family run firm were contacted online and asked to make all the arrangements.

A horse drawn carriage, two luxury vintage cars, men in top hats, a full choir and even a videographer to film the 'service' were all part of the package.

A source at the firm said the fee paid was in excess of £10,000.

'It is the most bizarre thing we have ever been involved with, but we have been paid' said the source.

'We were contacted online about a week ago and asked to make all the arrangements, which we did.

'The money was paid to us by bank transfer so it is not as if we have not been paid. Everything seemed in order, and there was a death certificate that was in Russian.

'Everyone has been paid, except from I hear some of the actors. We have passed all that we know to the police, and it is in their hands.'

Video footage from inside the fake funeral showed people dressed in smart suits for mourning

Jhaj hired a group of actors to pretend to be mourners and arranged the entire service online

The funeral directors were initially told that they would be collecting a body and a place was reserved for burial at Brompton Cemetery in Fulham, West London about a mile from the London Oratory Church.

But the day before the funeral at the Catholic Church they were told they had to collect cremated remains from the family home of the victim.

The source said: 'It is not unusual to have cremated remains brought to a church if the person has died overseas.

'But when we got to the church there was something not right. One of my men went and had a word with the priest and suddenly it was all off.'

Father McHardy, who was to conduct the funeral service, said he never met the organiser who claimed his name was Clyde Zaube.

He had told the funeral directors he was the brother of the dead man Lauris Zaube.

Zaube had been missing since the New Year in his native Latvia. It is not known if he is dead - but he is not thought to have a brother.

Father McHardy said he did not initially suspect the funeral was fake but after speaking to some of the mourners – who said they had been hired – he realised the whole event was being staged.

Jhaj even hired a director to film the funeral using cameras set up inside the historic London church

Many of those in attendance wore long black coats and puffer jackets, with black clothes underneath

Some of the mourners – who turned out to be hired actors – have not been paid for attending the funeral service at the London Oratory (pictured)

'I have no idea why anyone would want to stage a false funeral,' he said.

'When I knew nothing was going to happen I went to try and speak with the person who said his brother was being buried, but he had gone.

'I have never been involved in anything like this and it is very disrespectful to the church.'

Fr Rupert previously told MailOnline that there were two groups of people in the church. The first group, who turned out to be actors, were respectful and polite, although one of them complained that they hadn't been paid.

He said: 'There was another group of people in puffer jackets and balaclavas, Clyde Zaube included. They had hoods and dark glasses. They were sinister-looking.

'I tried to speak to this Clyde Zaube and he wouldn't speak to me. It became clear he wasn't who he claimed to be.'

Pictured: Police in Riga search for missing Latvian man Lauris Zaube

The 23-year-old went missing near an iced-over dam after a New Year's Eve party

His body has seemingly not yet been found and he doesn't appear to have a brother called Clyde

He continued: 'When I realised it wasn't a real funeral we said we can't do this.

'We told them to leave and they all left relatively happily.

'If they had been a real family they would have been weeping and crying.

'We were paid. The funeral directors were paid. We haven't lost any money but it's very, very weird.

'I was quite shaken afterwards. I felt very disturbed by it. Normally you take people at their word.

'No expense was spared - top hats, a horse-drawn hearse, two expensive vintage cars, a full choir. 

'I was worried there was going to be some sort of violence.

'I thought, I have got to stop it because it's all fake. It was very spooky.'

A spokesman for Latvian Police in the capital Riga said they had been made aware of the funeral.

'The State Police has been informed about this event. Lauris Zaube has not been found.

'We are not making further comments.'