Highgate Cemetery's pompous claims should be exposed

You printed, as if true, Highgate Cemetery s pompous claim that Alexander Litvinenko s grave is not included on the tour for reasons of privacy and anyway that the cemetery is not a tourist attraction (World watches as Russian spy is laid to rest, H

You printed, as if true, Highgate Cemetery's pompous claim that Alexander Litvinenko's grave is not included on the tour for reasons of 'privacy' and anyway that the cemetery is ''not a tourist attraction'' (World watches as Russian spy is laid to rest, H&H December 14).

Had you bothered to check either of these statements (by for instance going on a tour) you'd have known that the Litvinenko grave is directly on the tour route and plainly visible. In fact, the tour I attended in December stopped right by the grave and the guide readily confirmed that it was Litvinenko's. Hardly what one would call privacy.

As for the cemetery's claim that it is not a tourist attraction, the exact opposite is in fact the case. All you have to do to establish this is to log on and browse the countless number of sites about Highgate. The cemetery's own website confirms this too and proudly announces that there are at least 10 tours every single weekend and more in the summer, plus something tantalisingly called a Special Tour costing £90 or more. It is obvious that a substantial chunk of the cemetery's income is derived from tourism.

The sniffy statement that Highgate is ''not a tourist attraction'' is thus not only demonstrably untrue, it also displays a profound lack of respect for the hand that feeds it.

Vivien Bright

Haverstock Hill, NW3