The former head of the Royal Navy has led backlash against a ban on Remembrance Sunday services inside churches, as he warned veterans faced catching pneumonia by being forced to stand outside.
Most religious services are banned under winter lockdown restrictions, which began yesterday, with anyone caught attending facing a £200 fine.
The ban will stop veterans from heading into churches this Remembrance Sunday, as the last survivor of the Battle of Britain said he ‘feels sad,’ about the ban.
But growing uproar from former senior members of the armed forces, and former defence secretary Michael Fallon, has seen calls for an exemption so the day can be properly commemorated.
The Government has advised organisers of Remembrance Sunday services to hold them outside, where there is a reduced risk of Covid-19 transmission, following a ban on church visits as part of England’s lockdown
Former First Sea Lord Lord West has warned veterans face catching pneumonia if they are forced to hold Remembrance Services outdoors on Sunday
Lord West of Spithead, the former First Sea Lord, told The Telegraph: ‘If you look at the average size of a church there must be a way of letting veterans in with social distancing. It seems very silly to have them standing outside in the freezing cold. This puts them more at risk. They will die of pneumonia rather than Covid.’
A heavily reduced ceremony at the Cenotaph will take place on Sunday.
The Royal British Legion has confirmed there will not be the annual March Past the Cenotaph, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On its website the charity said it recognised the decision was ‘deeply disappointing,’ adding it was taken following Government advice.
John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, the last surviving pilot to have flown in the Battle of Britain, is said to ‘feel sad,’ about the Government’s decision
John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, the 101-year-old last survivor of the Battle of Britain, is said to be gutted by the move.
His son Brian Hemingway said the veteran ‘feels sad,’ people will not be able to come together on Sunday.
Guidance from the Government allows local authorities in England to organise events at a ‘public war memorial or cenotaph’ so long as they are held outdoors, they are short and those in attendance observe social distancing measures.
It comes just days after former prime minister Theresa May criticised the Government’s decision, telling the Commons: ‘The Covid-secure Remembrance service in Worcester Cathedral is now going to be turned into a pre-recorded online service.
‘Surely those men and women who gave down their lives for our freedom deserve better than this?’
Former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, said: ‘Veterans are perfectly capable of social distancing and wearing face masks for half an hour and I hope the Government will think again. It seems ridiculous. We trusted veterans to put their lives on the line for the country but we cannot trust them to stand two metres apart in church.’
A heavily reduced ceremony at the Cenotaph will take place on Sunday, but the Royal British Legion said there will be no march past by former veterans, amid concerns over Covid-19
Several members in the House of Lords raised concerns over the impact of the move on people’s mental health, pointing out that for many elderly people attending church was their only regular social activity.
Defending the rule, Communities Minister Lord Greenhalgh said: ‘We have come to a critical point in the fight against Covid-19.’
Stressing the need to ‘limit our interaction with others’, he said: ‘Therefore, with great regret, while places of worship will remain open for individual prayer, communal worship cannot take place at this time.’
Pressing the minister, Tory peer Lord Cormack said he had ‘not given a single shred of evidence as to why churches should not be open for public worship’.
Theresa May said veterans ‘deserve better’ than the measures set out by Government that suggest services should be held online or outdoors
He said a remembrance service had been planned for this Sunday in Lincoln Cathedral, which was ‘an immense space where everybody can be properly socially distanced’.
Lord Cormack added: ‘Instead, the Government have come up with an imbecilic answer – that the veterans, all of whom are 90 and over, can stand in the cold and be rained on, but they cannot go into a safe, socially distanced cathedral.
‘This is a disgrace.’