§ 13. Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will allow suitable flowers and bushes to be planted round the memorial to the soldiers and horses killed in the Irish Republican Army bombing in Hyde park on 20 July 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneI think that the existing memorial fittingly expresses our respect for those who died. I am told that flowers and bushes would be unlikely to do well under the shade of the trees. I am prepared to consider any alternative proposals that my hon. Friend may wish to put forward.
§ Mr. GreenwayI welcome the slight progress in the answer from my hon. Friend. Will he go all out to commemorate the fact that soldiers and horses gave their lives in Hyde park by adding to the memorial, which is excellent but plain, suitable bushes and flowering shrubs which will survive under the trees? Is he aware that the public have subscribed several hundred pounds for a fund that I raised for this purpose and that it would cost the Government absolutely nothing to do something?
§ Mr. MacfarlaneI am grateful for my hon. Friend's comments. A heinous crime was perpetrated on 20 July 1982. Near that spot is a dignified memorial to the men who died. The memorial to the Blues and Royals was designed with their full approval. It is set near the roadway in grass and under trees. Flowers and bushes would find some difficulty in surviving at that point. Perhaps it would be best for my hon. Friend and me to sit down and talk about this matter.