Police were called after reports that up to 100 mourners – including a Birmingham MP – turned up at a city cemetery for a funeral in a massive contravention of Coronavirus rules. Many on social media are questioning why this was allowed to go ahead yet dog walkers are being harrassed:
Hall Green MP Tahir Ali confirmed he had joined in prayers at at the ceremony and blasted the restrictions limiting funeral numbers.
The number in attendance was understood to have been between 80 and 100, though most attendees dispersed after saying funeral prayers.
West Midlands Police confirmed it was alerted to reports of a large crowd but officers found 15 mourners in family groups observing social distance rules. No action was taken.
Cemetery staff raised the alarm after seeing the size of the gathering amid fears about infection risks.
Only six mourners are now permitted at any funeral in the city under Covid-19 restrictions.
Today Mr Ali, elected in December to the safe Labour seat, said he was there to ‘observe’ after being contacted by the distressed family, who he knew well.
He said he joined in funeral prayers outside the cemetery and then ‘left immediately.’
He said it was one of two funerals he had attended that day – the other with around 20 mourners at a ceremony in Sandwell – as part of moves to gather information to call for a relaxation in funeral rules to help distressed families.
Mr Ali, who is also still a city councillor representing Nechells, said he also intended to attend funerals in Walsall, Dudley and Wolverhampton in the coming days to do more ‘observations’.
He is calling for more people to be allowed to mourn together in the city, as long as they observe social distancing rules. He said it was otherwise putting large families in the city – many of them Muslim – in a horrendous situation.
In response, the city’s housing and neighbourhoods cabinet member Coun Sharon Thompson, who oversees bereavement services, said: “We are clear that the fewer people there are at funerals will, we hope, help us see fewer funerals.
“There are restrictions in place for one reason – to try to keep people safe and reduce infection.
“I appreciate some will not agree but my priority is to keep people safe and save lives.
“None of this is easy. It is a very difficult time and we absolutely understand the distress of families affected by loss.”
One anxious mourner told BirminghamLive they had no idea so many people would be in attendance but they had been urged to attend to pay their respects. “We were shocked when we turned up. There were around 80 or more people, all stood together.
“Groups of six at a time were going into the cemetery to pay their respects. It did not feel as if people understood we were in a lockdown.”
He added that he was surprised to see Mr Ali there, as an MP for the city.
“I would have thought he would set an example. It didn’t seem right.”
Mr Ali’s fellow city councillor Majid Mahmood (Lab, Bromford and Hodge Hill) is also calling for a relaxation in funeral attendance numbers, calling for a maximum of 20 attendees to be allowed to attend.
He has written to city council leaders calling for the number to be increased – you can read our full story about it here.
Mr Ali today defended his attendance at the gathering, which is in clear contravention of rules around mass gatherings, social isolation and essential travel.
Mr Ali said he was contacted by a family he knew well who asked if there could be any flexibility around numbers allowed at the cemetery, as they had a very large family.
“In other council areas many more people are allowed to attend. In Luton, Bradford, other councils, more are permitted, up to 20.
“Yet here in Birmingham the number is restricted to six.
“Families are very distressed. They are already unable to visit their loved ones in hospital and then there are limited numbers at funerals.
“The limit here (in Birmingham) is arbitrary, and for families that is difficult to understand.
“They hear of different rules in other areas, and ask why not here?”
After facing intense scrutiny Police chief David Jamieson has reacted furiously after Birmingham MP Tahir Ali joined a huge funeral prayer gathering – in defiance of lockdown restrictions.
The angry West Midlands crime commissioner said the actions of the MP were “totally irresponsible” and said he was “letting his constituents down”.
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