Police Deserve Medals For Heroes

The families of police officers who are killed in the execution of their duties should be given a medal similar to the Elizabeth Cross, the Chair of Hampshire Police Federation has said.

Zoë Wakefield was speaking as the both Labour Party and Welsh Parliament pledged their support for the Medals for Heroes campaign, which would see families of fallen police officers receive the equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross that is given to the Armed Forces.

Bryn Hughes, the father of PC Nicola Hughes who was murdered in 2012, has been leading the campaign for several years. Medals for Heroes now has cross-party endorsement from MPs, who have called on the Government for formal state recognition for emergency service workers who are killed on-duty.

Zoë said: “I’m gobsmacked why this has taken so long. Why haven’t we always been doing it? In the military it’s been a thing for ages, so why shouldn’t it apply to police officers as well, who sacrifice their own lives in order to save others?

“I saw Bryn at National Police Memorial Day and said well done to him for keeping on with this. This is the sort of thing that should never, ever be a battle. Bryn has our full support and I really hope the Government gets it done.

“Fortunately only small numbers of officers die on duty, so it shouldn’t be a difficult task. But it’s so important for the families. When I take the families to National Police Memorial Day I see how much it means to them.”