Westminster cemeteries scandal
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The Westminster cemeteries scandal was a British political scandal which began in January 1987 when Westminster City Council (WCC) sold three cemeteries, three lodges, one flat, a crematorium and over 12 acres (4.9 ha) of prime development land in London for a total of 85 pence.[1][2] The three cemeteries – Hanwell Cemetery (formerly City of Westminster Cemetery), East Finchley Cemetery (formerly St. Marylebone Cemetery) and Mill Hill Cemetery (formerly Paddington New Cemetery) – were sold for 5 pence each. Shortly before the sale was finalised, one building had been withdrawn from the lot – because the council had failed to secure the eviction of a cemetery keeper – so WCC also paid the purchaser £70,000 compensation.[2][3]
The sale was ordered by Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of WCC at the time, in order to save the annual maintenance costs of £422,000, with the upkeep of the cemeteries passing to the new owner.[4][2] However, the deal had been handled with such incompetence by WCC that the maintenance agreement only applied to the immediate purchaser of the cemeteries and not to any subsequent owners; the cemeteries were re-sold by the purchaser for £1.25 million on the same day that he had acquired them.[2] Without maintenance, the cemeteries soon became overgrown, headstones were vandalised, and they were frequented by drug addicts.