Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to consult the victims and survivors of terrorism about creating a permanent national memorial. Speaking at the inaugural National Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism in central London, he said: “We see you, we hear you, we stand with you.”
Ceremony and survivors' stories
The ceremony brought together victims, survivors, bereaved families, emergency responders and Government representatives, who observed a two-minute silence. They heard from security minister Dan Jarvis and survivors including Cheryl Stollery, who lost her husband in the Sousse attack in Tunisia in 2015, and Paul Price, who spent months in hospital after the Manchester Arena attack in which his partner, Elaine McIver, died.
Commitments and reforms
The Prime Minister said in remarks concluding the event that it was a day to “commit to be better, to do better, to take the inspiration from the words we’ve heard from you today, and challenge ourselves to do more”. He said the Government would look at reforming the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and access to legal assistance as it seeks to improve conditions for survivors of terrorism. Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones will lead on that work and look at what the UK can learn from countries like Spain and France.
Memorial consultation pledge
He added: “On the question of consulting you all over a permanent national memorial to the victims and survivors of terrorism, of course, we will do this too, and I make that commitment to you today. Your voices must be at the heart of every decision about how we remember and recognise those affected by terrorism. With your help, we will change the way this country recognises and supports you, but most importantly, from here, obviously, those in some ways coming after you because that’s what this country should do.”
He thanked everyone who had campaigned for a dedicated day for terrorism survivors. “This day does matter, as all the speakers have said. It is our way of saying that we see you, we hear you, we stand with you, and the whole country does too. I want to thank everyone who campaigned for this day to make it happen. And the victims and survivors of more than 20 atrocities, we think of those victims today, the loved ones that you lost, but we thank those who have stood strong in all those years since, and we thank everyone who’s made the organisation of today possible.”
Burnham spoke of his experience of the Manchester bombing and the inaugural service heard from survivors of that day. He said: “It matters for another, more difficult reason, and it’s one that I can talk about perhaps in a way that the other speakers couldn’t today. It helps bring forward change, change that the country needs, change in the way that we support people after these devastating and traumatic events. I know from the many hours I’ve spent with survivors in Manchester that too often people have not had the support that they deserved, and they’ve had to fight for it in the aftermath.”
