Former Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled a new memorial to murdered PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, telling their families ‘they are lights that will never go out’.
As premiere, Mr Cameron visited Tameside after the two officers had been gunned down by evil Dale Cregan outside a house in Mottram-in-Longdendale on September 18, 2012.
The day after moving out of 10 Downing Street with his family, he was back near the spot where the PCs were slain to unveil a memorial stone in their honour.
He told watching families of the fallen officers he had been asked by his successor Theresa May - who had been due to attend as Home Secretary but was now forming her new cabinet - to stand in.
Standing beside the memorial stone at The Hub community centre, Mr Cameron said: “It’s said that the character of a country is revealed not only by the men and women it produces but by those we choose to remember, the lights we decide should never go out and the stories we keep alive so that future generations may one day hear them. Our fallen heroes in the police exemplify the very best of this country and for me they are the very epitomy of bravery, sacrifice and courage.”
They had made ‘the ultimate sacrifice’ and he echoed what he said in 2012 that they had been taken ‘by an act of pure evil’.
The two officers had shown ‘unbelievable courage’ in their last moments while Fiona Bone - despite being shot 22 times - ‘would not take a backwards step’ as her colleague was laying in front of her already shot and fatally injured.
Mr Cameron concluded: “Fiona and Nicola are lights that will never go out.”
The memorial stone has been erected by the Police Memorial Trust, formed in 1984 by the late film producer Michael Winner and now run by his widow Geraldine.
After the ceremony, Fiona’s father Paul Bone said: “It was extremely gratifying and an honour to be here. It was a really moving experience.”
Bryn Hughes, PC Hughes’ father, said: “It was really, really humbling. It was fantastic. It reminded us what we have all been through.”
He added that Mr Cameron’s speech, particularly where he said officers went to work not knowing whether they would come home, ‘really got me’.
“It’s vitally important we remember,” he said.
