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Police were called after reports that up to 100 mourners - including a Birmingham MP - turned up at a city cemetery for a funeral - in defiance of the coronavirus lockdown.

Officers were alerted by worried staff after a large crowd gathered at the gates of Sutton New Hall Cemetery yesterday, Wednesday, April 1.

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'.

(Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

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.

"Families are distressed"

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?"

He said he had attended two funerals, one in Sandwell and a second one in Sutton, part of Birmingham City Council's area.

"In Sandwell around 20 people were allowed to go in (to the cemetery). They opened the gates, let people inside, cars were allowed to drive in, prayers were observed and people left. I think if it had been 40 the situation would have been the same.

"But in Birmingham the restriction is for six. It seems like a number plucked out of the air.

"I attended (the funeral in Sutton) and said prayers. I left immediately. I observed what was happening.

"I wanted to see for myself.

"I know a grandfather with 15 grandchildren. If he died how would they decide who could come and who could not?

"I also think the rule (on how many allowed to mourn) should be made by the government to avoid inconsistency.

"The council say the restrictions are to avoid interaction, but yet I called in at Morrisons and there were upwards of 150 people. There are people on buses and trains, so why not at funerals, as long as distance is observed and people are careful?

"The burial could take place with a restricted number of mourners but there should be a way for people to gather to say funeral prayers or pay their respects.

"Let's be sensible - some families are large. Everybody will want to turn up. We can accommodate that and make sure social distancing is observed. We need to apply common sense.

He is calling for:

* a rise in numbers permitted to gather to pay their respects before the deceased is buried - "not necessarily at the graveside but at some other location, for example, in a car park, or somewhere like Small Heath Park, where people could gather and stand in marked out places to keep their social distance and pray together, before the hearse goes off to the cemetery."

He said he had already approached a business in Alum Rock who had indicated their car park could be used for such a purpose.

* national guidance on numbers permitted at funerals, adding: "In the right setting we could allow 30 or 40 to attend."

* funeral costs to be waived for families who experience loss due to Covid-19

* better counselling and grief support for families, who were often left feeling abandoned and alone

He also pledged to continue to attend funerals in other neighbouring council areas - in Walsall, Dudley and Wolverhampton - to observe how they were conducted, and to continue to press for more flexibility for larger families.

In a series of Facebook posts, Mr Ali has repeated government guidance about staying home and only making essential trips. He has also signed a letter calling on Boris Johnson to act more swiftly on the pandemic.

Cllr Sharon Thompson, Birmingham City Council

In response, Cllr Thompson said: "We took advice from officers and public health officials before setting our funeral restrictions, which are shared with our neighbours in Solihull. The number is limited to six, not to harm families but as a way to reduce risk of infection. It applies to cremations and burials, and equally across the city.

"We are clear - having fewer people at funerals will, we hope, help us see fewer funerals.

"We briefed councillors before announcing the change to our policy and had no feedback at that time. We are now aware of concerns being raised.

"We have also been consulting with faith leaders and groups, funeral directors, community groups and councillors constantly through this crisis.

"Whilst I appreciate that there are variances across local authority areas, each local authority will have based their decision on the facilities (crematoriums and/or cemeteries), welfare of staff and ability of those on site to be able to manage funerals, government guidance on social distancing/travel alongside size of the local authority area population and reducing the likelihood of the virus travelling across the population."

She added she had spoken with the Birmingham Muslim Burial Council only this morning (April 2), and they shared the council's approach to limiting attendance numbers.

West Midlands Police

A spokesperson said: "Officers were called to a report of a large crowd of people at a funeral in Sutton New Hall Cemetery yesterday (1 April). On arrival officers found approximately 15 people socially distanced into family groups, therefore no action was taken."