As 8,000 go to Wembley, should we increase the limit on funeral mourners?

WHILE I support increasing the numbers able to attend a funeral, I had to arrange my father’s last November when restrictions on numbers were in place. It was beautiful and intimate and we knew everyone there. JOCELYN BUTTERWORTH,

halifax. THERE is a simple way in which more than 30 people can attend a funeral: hold a snooker tournament in the same place at the same time. As 8,000 people were recently allowed into Wembley

Stadium, does that mean the government considers a football match 266 times more important than a funeral? JOHN WhAPShoTT, Westbury, Wiltshire. FOR those of us who lost loved ones in the early stages of the pandemic, we would have loved to have been allowed 30 mourners. My husband died a day before the first lockdown in March 2020, and we were allowed only ten people. This did not feel like a funeral where family and friends

could gather and say their own goodbyes and talk about their memories of the departed. We even had to do our own flowers as florists were closed. My son, daughter and myself have three times tried to arrange a Celebration of Life service, for him but the date keeps being deferred because of the changing restrictions. We now hope that by mid-September large groups of people can gather and we can all say a proper farewell to a much loved, admired gentleman.

V. ReAVeLL, stansted, essex. FolloWinG the passing of my brother in april last year, the cremation in Swansea was restricted to ten people. He was a former sailor, having served ten years in the royal navy, and was a chorister in a local male choir for many years. in normal times, the funeral would have been attended by scores of friends and family. no form of music was allowed at the service. a very sad day indeed. i hope the Daily mail campaign is successful.

MIKe JOHN, swansea. WHILE I sympathise with those who have lost loved ones, the priority must be to keep people safe, which means rules must be simple. Clearly, Westminster Abbey can accommodate a far greater number of mourners within distancing guidelines than a tiny village church that my wife attends. But the public won’t look at the size of the building, they’ll just say: ‘Why were they allowed 60 mourners while we were only allowed 30?’ Making sensible rules that cover all sizes of venues and all eventualities and which are easy for the public to understand is a huge challenge, so the Government has adopted a ‘one size fits all’ approach. While it may cause distress to some families, it is necessary to be endured for a little while longer.