Dame Priti Patel, former Home Secretary
The chair of Cambridgeshire Police Federation is hopeful that a posthumous medal for fallen officers will be announced this year after the topic was again raised in Parliament.
Liz Groom said it was pleasing to see the Police Federation of England and Wales’s (PFEW) Medals for Heroes campaign discussed by MPs.
Now she’s urging politicians to make the campaign a reality in 2024 and create an Elizabeth Medal to be given posthumously in recognition of police officers and emergency services workers who are killed in the line of duty.
She said: “Police officers perform a unique role and put themselves in harm’s way every day to serve and protect our communities.
“The creation of an Elizabeth Medal to show the nation’s recognition and gratitude to those who have been killed serving and protecting the public would mean a lot to so many people.
“It’s pleasing to see our Medals for Heroes campaign discussed in Parliament and there appears to be cross-party support for it, so hopefully 2024 will be the year when our political leaders make it a reality.”
The Medals for Heroes campaign was raised in Parliament by Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper during a debate on the Criminal Justice Bill.
Ms Cooper said that “we should have a police bravery award for those who lose their lives in the line of duty”.
Speaking in the debate, Dame Priti Patel (pictured), the former Home Secretary, paid tribute to police officers who have lost their lives.
She said: “We must do more to represent the fallen and protect family members as well, that is why the Police Covenant is so important.
“I would like this House and ministers in particular to do much more to just recognise collectively that bravery because it affects the families of officers in a very, very challenging way.”
Meanwhile, a number of families of officers killed in the line of duty have received a brass leaf in recognition of their sacrifice at a ceremony at the House of Commons.
Each leaf was carved from the UK Police Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum and was inscribed with the officer’s personal details and the tribute ‘in recognition of their courage and sacrifice’.
The event was hosted and arranged by North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara along with the UK Police Arboretum Memorial Trust.