As the nation came together this Remembrance Weekend, we collectively fell silent, to honour the bravery and sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our country.

It was a time to reflect on the values we hold dear-freedom, democracy, and respect for those who fought
to preserve these ideals.

Given all of this, it is therefore deeply troubling to learn that the Government has apparently chosen not to take forward specific legislation within the Criminal Justice Bill, to protect our war memorials from defacement and vandalism.

I must declare an interest.

My father, Stoker First Class, Reginald Francois, aged just nineteen was on a minesweeper at D-Day- and like so many others, he and comrades in arms fought, so that we could live in a society that champions free speech and tolerance.

Vandalising or defacing war memorials is therefore not just an act of gross disrespect; it is an insult to the very essence of our shared history.

The decision not to advance legislation protecting these memorials from desecration is misguided, and the absence of such protections sends the wrong message about what we value as a society.

War memorials are not just crosses, stones and plaques-they are sacred symbols of the sacrifices made by individuals for our liberty.

For the Labour Party to even contemplate disregarding this issue, in the face of attacks on these monuments, is a failure to
stand up for the respect and remembrance we owe to our fallen heroes.

This should not be a matter of partisan politics; it is a national issue that concerns us all.

The protection of war memorials, from the Cenotaph to those in our smallest villages, is essential to preserving the integrity of our history and ensuring that future generations always remember the cost of their freedom, even in the modern day.

Lest we forget.