A Labour MP who went to a funeral as an ‘observer’ has been spoken to by police about a suspected breach of the coronavirus lockdown.
Birmingham Hall Green MP Tahir Ali, who reportedly attended two funerals on Wednesday, was said to have undermined the work of the police by his area’s crime commissioner.
Mr Ali has issued an unreserved apology for confusion caused by his attendance at a funeral at Sutton New Hall Cemetery, amid community calls for limits on numbers attending to be raised.
Police were called to a funeral attended by a Labour MP In Birmingham after they were told a large group of mourners had turned up to the service in Sutton Coldfield on Wednesday
Labour MP Tahir Ali, pictured, said he attended two funerals as an ‘observer’ and said authorities should reduce restrictions as long as mourners adhere to social distancing guidelines
Police were called to the site after up to 100 people were reported to have attended, although only 15 mourners were there when police arrived.
In a series of tweets, West Midlands Police said: ‘Following recent media coverage of a large gathering of mourners at a funeral in Birmingham earlier this week, we can confirm that we have spoken to Tahir Ali MP about a suspected breach of #coronavirus restrictions.
‘We warned Mr Ali about his behaviour and reminded him of the clear need for everyone to follow the rules surrounding social distancing and the guidelines that have been issued around funerals.
‘New restrictions have been placed on the numbers of mourners that can attend funerals in order to help stop the spread of #COVID-19. We would urge people to check their local authority websites for guidance. It is vital people follow these rules.’
Police said that when they arrived at the council-run cemetery, officers ‘found approximately 15 people socially distanced into family groups, therefore no action was taken’.
The West Midlands’ police and crime commissioner David Jamieson said on Friday that Mr Ali had been irresponsible and was not setting a proper example to his constituents.
In a statement responding to Mr Jamieson’s comments, Mr Ali said: ‘I apologise unreservedly for the confusion caused by my presence as an observer at a funeral in Sutton Coldfield on Wednesday.
‘I will not be attending any other similar gatherings.
‘I wholeheartedly support the Government’s measures on social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus and urge everyone to follow them, in all our interests.
‘I want to pay particular tribute to the outstanding work being done by our police, NHS and other statutory bodies in these most challenging of circumstances.
‘It is clear that the message is not getting through and that a unified approach is needed by local authorities in the West Midlands and across the UK, with explicit guidance on funeral attendance, to avoid a repeat of Wednesday’s scenes.’
The MP added that he wanted to play his part in establishing a set of clear rules that allow a safe number of mourners, while doing everything necessary to protect the NHS and save lives.
In his statement, Mr Jamieson said: ‘Tahir has been totally irresponsible and is letting his constituents down.
‘Mr Ali is not serving his constituents by endangering their lives.
‘Those in positions of civic leadership should be setting an example to all of the public. I would urge him to stop his intended funeral attendance in other boroughs too.’
West Midlands Police arrived at the cemetery but found that social distancing guidelines were still being adhered to as the mourners congregating together all came from the same households
One witness said they were surprised they saw Mr Ali among the mourners at the funeral
Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods, Sharon Thompson, said: ‘For anyone who suffers a bereavement, it is a difficult and painful time.
‘However, in these circumstances, measures have been put in place for one reason and that is to keep people safe.
‘What we saw earlier this week with large numbers of mourners turning up at a cemetery simply cannot continue to happen. Not only does it place funeral staff in an extremely difficult position, but it puts lives at risk.’
The council said social distancing was the most important consideration in deciding how many mourners could attend a funeral in the city.
Ms Thompson said: ‘While we very much wish circumstances were different, we are looking to act as responsibly as we can and to keep our citizens safe.’
Meanwhile, the Nightingale Hospital being built at the Birmingham NEC will be open and fully operational on April 12, senior regional health chiefs have said.
There will be a ‘mock-up’ running on April 10, with doors opening to patients two days later.
The site on the outskirts of Birmingham, just off the M42, will initially have a 500-bed capacity which can be scaled up to about 1,500 or more if needed.
Nick Page, of the West Midlands and Warwickshire strategic co-ordination group (SCG), said the hospital will begin ‘full admission’ by the end of next week.
Speaking at a webinar of regional civic, health and transport chiefs on Friday, Mr Page, who is Solihull council chief executive, said: ‘The 10th of April is when the Birmingham Nightingale Hospital will be ready to see patients.
‘As I understand it, they will be running the mock up of that on April 10 ready to start full admission in and around the April 12.’
He added that Birmingham’s first drive-through Covid-19 testing station for NHS workers is being set up at Edgbaston cricket ground, and it will be fully operational by Monday.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said that following a call to health chiefs earlier on Friday, no further testing sites in the region are scheduled to open – but he added: ‘They are looking to change that very shortly.’
The NHS Nightingale Hospital in London was formally opened at the ExCel centre on Friday by the Prince of Wales, who spoke via video-link from Balmoral.
The facility, named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, will need an army of up to 16,000 staff in clinical and ancillary roles to keep it running.
Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
It was set up by NHS contractors in just over a week with the assistance of around 200 military personnel.
