Police officers halted a burial and insisted on counting how many mourners were there because they thought the funeral breached strict Covid rules, an inquiry heard.
Four officers brought the outdoors service to a halt, despite the pleas of undertakers, because they were informed there were more than the 20 allowed under coronavirus laws.
It is the latest shocking revelation made to the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry about the impact Nicola Sturgeon’s pandemic rules had on the lives of Scots.
Yesterday, Lord Brailsford’s inquiry was told that staff at some venues were counting how many people walked through the doors, blocking entry to anyone over the limit no matter how close they were to the deceased.
The probe was also told how one family defied rules which banned them from singing, and how police were pulling over funeral staff to demand why they were outside.
The inquiry, which has so far cost £34 million, is currently hearing evidence as to how the pandemic affected worship and life events.
Tim Purves, the chief executive of William Purves Funeral Directors who transported Queen Elizabeth II from Balmoral to Edinburgh following her death, told of a service in the Borders which was brought to a halt by officers.
Mourner numbers to funerals were limited at the height of the pandemic
He told the inquiry: ‘We had a funeral that was taking place outside, it was a burial, and during the funeral service four police officers turned up in a car.
‘They had been informed that there was more than 20 people attending this funeral, and the four police officers came up and stopped the funeral while they counted the people that were there.
‘My funeral director, who was there, tried to plead with them to say: “Look, you can stand back here and count. You can see there’s less than 20..” But they insisted on doing this.’
In his written statement he told how they ‘went right up to the front, halting the burial’ to check.
And giving evidence yesterday he told how his colleague said to the four of them who arrived in a car together that despite this officers were ‘more concerned about the fact that in the open air there might be more than 20 people’.
Mr Purves said: ‘It just felt at times the rules were taking over.’
During the virus crisis, the Scottish Government introduced mandates about how many people could attend funerals as they tried to get to grips with rapidly rising case counts.
But before they did venues would have to make up their own rules, and Mr Purves told how one cemetery made the decision to have only five people, including clergy and staff, which meant only two family members could attend.
Covid restrictions meant even the Queen had to sit alone during Prince Philip ‘s funeral in April 2021
But, the inquiry heard, there were some which allowed much larger numbers.
With the limit of 20 set, some venues would have staff count people as they walked in.
Mr Purves said: ‘When they reached the number 21 they sort of said: “No, you’re not coming in.” The difficulty was sometimes that person was actually a very close relative, and somebody else had actually gone in ahead of them.
‘So there were times when we were having to go in and actually almost fish people back out and say: “I’m really sorry, but this very close relative has to come in, so you need to come out.”
One evening, the inquiry heard, rules were introduced with immediate effect banning singing at funerals.
It meant staff had to call one mourning family, who had planned on signing hymns the next day, to tell them that while music can play nobody is allowed to sing.
Mr Purves said: ‘The response at the funeral was that many people still sang. Now, everybody was wearing facemasks, but there is no way of physically stopping people from singing when they were at the funeral.
‘But while the music was playing, some people still sang.’
Funeral directors were not classes as key workers, and two staff were pulled over by police in the middle of the night while travelling to remove a deceased person from the house to demand to know why they were outside.
Police allowed them to continue their journey after being told of the circumstance.
The inquiry continues.
