UK to hold new national day to remember terror victims

The government has announced a new national day "to honour and remember" victims and survivors of terrorism in the UK.

The event will take place on 21 August in a different location across the country each year, with the first held in 2026, the Home Office has said.

It comes after a campaign by families and survivors, including those affected by the Westminster Bridge and Manchester arena attacks.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: "We will stand together as a nation - honouring all those impacted by terrorism and the horrific experiences they have endured".

Few details have been released about the first event next summer, but the government said it would keep working with victims and survivors to discuss the day's exact name and design a symbol.

The Home Office said the day would focus on "remembering and recognising those impacted by terrorism, encouraging victims and survivors to access specialist support, educating the public, and amplifying victims' and survivors' stories".

The chosen date coincides with the UN International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, which began in 2017.

The government has also announced plans to set up a new support hub to help victims in the immediate and long-term aftermath of attacks, which is expected to be up and running by next summer.

Travis Frain, survivor of the Westminster Bridge attack, said he had "fought tirelessly" for the UK to adopt a national day of this kind to help "educate the next generation".

He added that it was "important that as a society we commemorate and remember those affected - for the impacts are often lifelong".

Figen and Stuart Murray, the parents of Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester arena attack in 2017, said the day would not only honour the lives lost, but also acknowledge the "immense courage of survivors".

The Westminster Bridge attack, in which four people died when a man drove his car into crowds and then stabbed a police officer outside Parliament, and the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, in which 22 people died and 116 were injured, are among the worst attacks in the UK in recent years.