Defence minister to lay wreath at AJEX parade

Defence Minister Lord Vernon Coaker will be “proud” to lay a wreath on behalf of the government at this month’s annual AJEX parade and ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, MPs have been told.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, standing in for Keir Starmer at Prime Ministers’ Questions, said Coaker’s appearance at the ceremony on November 16 would show the UK’s “enduring gratitude to generations of Jewish services personnel and veterans.”

Lammy added he wished to thank the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women for organising the event, and for the work they do throughout the year in “keeping alive the memory of Jewish people, many of whom are in my constituency, the descendants of my constituents in Stamford Hill, who gave their lives for this country.”

The Deputy PM and Justice Minister was responding to a question from Bob Blackman, the Conservative MP for Harrow.

Blackman noted that next weekend’s Remember Sunday would honour those who make “the ultimate sacrifice,” and that the following weekend would be the AJEX parade, at which “Jewish men, women and children come together,” and veterans would wear medals from World War II and the Great War.

The MP said that with antisemitism on the rise, it would be particularly important for a government minister to attend that ceremony and “lay a wreath on behalf of the country to remember the Jewish people who gave their lives for this country so we can all be free.”

In an obvious mistake, the Deputy Prime Minister was not wearing the symbol of remembrance when he began taking questions in the House of Commons at midday.

He later borrowed a poppy pin badge from another Labour MP, which Lammy then attached to his jacket during the session.

In his response to Blackman, Lammy said he had brought a new suit for PMQs, becoming the first Black MP to do so.

He said, “I bought a new suit this morning because my godmother said she would be watching.

“I am very grateful to the honourable member for Sunderland South for ensuring that, despite wearing a new suit, I have managed to put my poppy on.”