Many constituents have contacted me over recent months to express their concerns about the management and operations at Tottenham Park Cemetery. The issues raised included new burials taking place despite the Cemetery being full, a lack of communication regarding COVID-19 and damage to graves and headstones.

I subsequently contacted the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to raise those concerns as a matter of urgency and as a result the MOJ have now contacted the owner of Tottenham Park Cemetery to ensure that those concerns are addressed. The owner of the Cemetery will now be required to provide the MOJ with their ‘business plan’ and to adhere to recommendations from the most recent inspection of the cemetery including that no ‘new’ graves should be excavated in the Cemetery. Lastly, the Cemetery will now be expected to put in place social distancing procedures so that it adheres to the latest COVID-19 protocol.

I appreciate that the cemetery is of particular importance to the Turkish-Cypriot, Turkish and Kurdish communities. All families of loved ones who have been laid to rest in the cemetery deserve reassurance that they have a safe future and that the cemetery will be maintained to a high standard.  I, therefore, want to make it absolutely clear that I will continue to work with other Members of the House of Commons, Lords and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that moving forward, Tottenham Park Cemetery is properly run and maintained. I would also urge anybody who has ongoing concerns to contact my office at edmontonconstituency@parliament.uk.