Thousands gather to remember Iraq war dead
More than 2,000 people are attending a remembrance service in honour of those killed in Iraq.
The Queen, the prime minister and 11 senior royal are due to attend the multi-faith ceremony, which has been described as a tribute to the dead rather than a victory parade.
Relatives of the 51 British military personnel killed in Iraq are also expected to attend.
However, some families of soldiers killed in Iraq have expressed their anger at the way in which the Ministry of Defence has treated them.
The father of Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans, 24, who died in a helicopter crash in the Kuwaiti desert, urged the Tony Blair not to attend the ceremony, claiming that he should not have sent British troops to fight in Iraq.
“He’s the one who sent out troops in the first place. We wouldn’t be having a memorial service if it wasn’t for him,” Gordon Evans said.
The memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday has been organised by St Paul’s and the Ministry of Defence, and also focuses on the future of Iraq and its people.
The Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Rev Dr John Moses will lead prayers for the fallen, the wounded, their families, colleagues and friends.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will deliver an address and there will be a minute’s silence led by Bishop to the Forces the Rt Rev David Conner, with a bugler sounding the Last Post and then Reveille.
Prayers for penitence and reconciliation will be led by the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, and Methodist Conference Vice President Judy Jarvis.
The Duke of Edinburgh and Air Chief Marshal Brian Burridge are reading the lessons.
