Member

It is absolutely right that Sir Edwin Lutyens’ grade 1 listed Cenotaph be afforded the full protection of the Bill. But why is the memorial to the women of World War II, which stands just a few feet away, not afforded the same protection? Unveiled on the 60th anniversary of VE Day by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II—who herself of course served as a teenage mechanic and driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service—it pays tribute to the 7 million women, including the young Princess, who took on vital roles in securing victory, in factories, in the Land Army, and as secret agents in the Special Operations Executive. To exclude this memorial from the primary list of protected sites suggests a hierarchy of sacrifice that I am sure the Government did not intend.