Service Personnel: Return from the Gulf (Hansard, 17 July 2003)

§ Lord Bach

As the House is aware, we have been considering the precise form in which we should commemorate and mark the operations undertaken in Iraq this year.

We can announce that we have decided that there will be a national service of remembrance and thanksgiving for the campaign in Iraq. This will be held in St Paul's Cathedral on 10 October 2003. The Dean of St Paul's will lead the service and the Archbishop of Canterbury will give the sermon. The service will give thanks for the role UK forces played in ending tyranny in Iraq. It will also give thanks to those personnel, including those that lost their lives, who took part—recognising their professionalism and their achievements.

Members of the Royal family, the Prime Minister and members of the Government will attend along with Service chiefs. Representatives of our coalition allies and members of the Opposition will also be invited to the ceremony, along with, importantly, the families of those who so tragically lost their lives over the course of the operation. The majority of the congregation will, though, be personnel who took part in the campaign.

We have given careful thought to the calls made for a parade to mark this event. In accordance with the wishes of the Armed Forces, we have decided that the most appropriate form of commemoration at the national level would be a service of thanksgiving, but without a parade. At the regional and local level, there will be opportunities for local communities to arrange events for their local units to mark their involvement in, and return from, the operation.