Boris Johnson backs Covid memorial at St Paul’s cathedral

BRITAIN-HEALTH-VIRUS
AFP via Getty Images
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Boris Johnson has pledged his support for a covid memorial in St Paul’s Cathedral and said the Government will establish a commission on commemorating the pandemic.

The Prime Minister threw his weight behind a campaign for a memorial in the cathedral, telling MPs: “Like many across this Chamber I was deeply moved when I visited the covid memorial wall opposite Parliament and I wholeheartedly support the plan for a memorial in St Paul’s cathedral which will provide a fitting place of reflection in the heart of our capital.”

It comes after a campaign was launched to raise £2.3 million to build a memorial in the central London cathedral to commemorate those who died in the pandemic. It is part of an online memorial project Remember Me and in partnership with the Daily Mail.

Mr Johnson also said the Government will establish a UK commission on Covid commemoration because communities across the whole country want to commemorate the pandemic.

He added: “This national endeavour above party politics will remember the loved ones we have lost, honour the heroism of those who have saved lives and the courage of frontline workers who have kept our country going, celebrate the genius of those who created the vaccines and commemorate the small acts of kindness and the daily sacrifice of millions who stayed at home buying time for our scientists to come to our rescue.”

More follows…

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in