A WIRRAL MP has backed calls for a monument created in tribute to those who have lost lives during the pandemic to be made permanent.

Margaret Greenwood gave her support after visiting the National Covid Memorial Wall opposite Parliament.

Stretching over a third of a mile it is a mural of 150,000 individually painted hearts. It was coordinated by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign which represents thousands of bereaved families.

Since work started on the mural in March, bereaved families from across the country have added messages for their loved ones on the wall and it has become a place for people to come together to mourn, to remember and reflect on the tragedy of what has happened.

Margaret Greenwood - who represents Wirral West - joined 227 MPs, Peers and Mayors, including fellow Wirral MPs Mick Whitley, Alison McGovern and Angela Eagle, in writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urge him to support the campaign for the National Covid Memorial Wall in London to become a permanent site.

The letter was spearheaded by Afzal Khan, MP for Manchester Gorton, who lost his mum and both his parents-in-law to coronavirus and has been working with Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice on securing the future of the wall.

The letter states:

"Given the poignancy of this site, the need to give grieving families a place to mourn their loved ones, and your previous commitment to a national Covid memorial, we, the undersigned, support calls to make this wall of hearts a, if not the, permanent memorial to the victims of the pandemic."

Among the signatories of this letter are over 160 MPs from across the House of Commons as well as numerous members of the House of Lords. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, and Florence Eshalomi MP, in whose constituency the wall resides, are also signatories.

Margaret Greenwood said after her visit: "It was incredibly moving to visit the National Covid Memorial Wall and read the messages from bereaved families in honour of their loved ones.

"The sheer scale of the mural is a powerful reminder of the devastating loss suffered by grieving families across the country.

"I believe that the National Covid Memorial Wall, which was created and developed by bereaved families, should be made into a permanent memorial on the South Bank so that people can visit and reflect on those who have lost their lives to Covid. I fully support the campaign to secure its future.”

Afzal Khan MP said: "The Covid Memorial Wall is an extraordinary site and deeply moving.

"I had the privilege to visit the site last month where I left messages to remember my mum and both my parents-in-law whose lives were so cruelly cut short by this virus.

"I hope one day to be able to bring my children and grandchildren to see these messages and the wall for themselves.

"It is fantastic to see such support across Parliament and the country for this campaign, it just goes to show that while we may not always be united in our politics, we are all united in our grief for those lost to the pandemic.”

Matt Fowler, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice: "The Memorial Wall has brought many thousands of bereaved families across the country together in ways that we could never have imagined, it's been utterly overwhelming.

"We'll never get back the people we’ve lost, but having a shared space for our collective memory, to share our loss and our love, has meant so much.

"It is unthinkable that the Wall would be taken down, when it is so important, to so many.

"Seeing this support from MPs across parliament for it to be made permanent has been heartening, and we sincerely hope the Prime Minister will join them."