It was my privilege this month to visit the Covid Memorial Wall to mark its second anniversary.
I joined many bereaved families in walking the length of the wall – from Westminster Bridge to Lambeth Bridge – and took part in a service to remember the many, many lives lost to Covid-19.
This was an emotional and touching tribute to all those that we lost, including my own uncle and cousin. We must never forget this tragic moment in our history, and that is why the Covid Memorial Wall must become a permanent memorial.
The wall displays almost 200,000 hand-drawn hearts, each depicting a life lost to the pandemic. To visit and see this for yourself is an incredibly powerful experience and brings home the sense of loss.
The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, set up to determine how we remember the pandemic, has delivered a final report to Rishi Sunak, and it is my sincere hope that the Commission, and indeed the Government, come to the same conclusion as I have: this memorial must be made permanent, by any means necessary.
