North London cemetery faces being shut down over grave desecration claims

Tottenham Park Cemetery

A north London cemetery faces being shutdown after an investigation found graves had allegedly been desecrated and human bones were left uncovered.

Ministers on Thursday applied for an order to stop burials at Tottenham Park Cemetery in Enfield, which is one of the largest Turkish graveyards in the UK.

It follows two Government-ordered inspections that discovered remains had been unlawfully disturbed at the site.

Inspectors told owners that no new plots should be excavated or sold, record keeping should be improved, and a survey undertaken to identify existing burials.

But improvements to ensure the safety of burials were not met, the Department of Justice said.

‌Justice Minister Mike Freer said: “The people buried in this cemetery were laid to rest and the repeated disturbance of their remains is not only illegal but a breach of trust.

“I believe it is necessary to seek this closure to ensure that Tottenham Park Cemetery can safely serve its community in future.”

Concerns about the cemetery, off Montagu Road, have been repeatedly raised to Enfield council, Lib Dem Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece and local MPs, prompting the investigation.

A probe was launched in 2018 after a partial human skeleton was found uncovered, and a jaw bone was seen lodged between two gravestones.

Inspections over the past four years have found that the cemetery is full but, despite this, it has been reported that there have been more than 250 new burials since 2019, the council said.

The local authority attempted to buy the site last year and bring it into public ownership.

But the offer was rejected by then-owner Peter Demetriou and he subsequently sold it to British Turkish businessmen Mustafa Dari and Ersin Savas.The new owners said they had begun restoring the cemetery and denied that there had been any “interference of existing graves for any improper purpose, including the reuse of a grave for strangers”.

For the Government to stop burials at private cemeteries it requires an Order in Council, which is considered by the Privy Council Office and signed by the King.

The prevention of future funerals should not impact the opening of the site for the public to visit their loved ones’ graves, the Government said.

A spokesman added that the Ministry of Justice will work with the owners, Enfield Council and other interested parties to ensure the reserved graves continue to be managed.

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