Brother of Windrush campaigner pleads for clarity over burials

Paulette Wilson, an activist who was wrongly detained and threatened with deportation by the Home Office, died unexpectedly at the age of 64, just a month after delivering a petition to Downing Street calling on the government to deliver justice to those affected by the scandal.

Ms Wilson made her home in Wolverhampton's Heath Town, having arrived in Telford from Jamaica as a 10-year-old girl in 1968.

She is due to be buried at Heath Town Church in Wolverhampton on September 4, and in line with Jamaican traditions, her family want to fill in her grave. However, they are not being allowed due to coronavirus restrictions.

Paulette's brother, Trevor Wright, has written to the Prime Minister and other members of parliament to issue specific guidance in time for her funeral.

He said: "We, as brothers, are allowed to carry her. But we are not allowed to fill in her grave. This is how we've always done it. Others who have been to this type of funeral have said that it's moving.

"We're in a social bubble so it's probably safer for us to do it anyway.

"Under normal circumstances, that's what we'd do. We don't want any trouble. We want to go down the right channels and try and do things the right way."

The advice for funerals in England doesn't specify about whether family can help with burial rituals. It says no more than 30 people should be in attendance, with the Government website saying that ‘a modest number’ of people should attend – and suggests livestreaming the service where possible so that others can attend remotely. It also adds that social distancing should be practiced among members of different households who are in attendance, and that anyone who has symptoms of Covid-19 should not attend.

Any mourners who are self-isolating after coming in from another country are allowed to leave quarantine on compassionate grounds to attend the funeral – but must otherwise self-isolate.