2010 is a year of Remembrance. This year is the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 65th Anniversary of the end of World War 2. With many of the veterans dying, it is vitally important than we remember and celebrate their sacrifices. War Memorials are a central part of our acts of remembrance. Every Remembrance Sunday, War Memorials up and down the country become the focal point for our national ceremony of remembrance. From the plainest monuments to the grand Cenotaph in Whitehall people gather to remember the Glorious Dead. For the rest of the year, War Memorials fade from the public consciousness into the background of our lives. But they are still there, exuding a quite dignity tinged with sadness for the many men and women who have died for our country. They are more than rock and stone. They have embedded themselves into our national life and heritage, and have come to represent not only the lives lost but the values of freedom and democracy for which they fought.

However, there is a minority of people who treat War Memorials with contempt. My interest in this issue was first raised by an incident last August in my constituency when bronze plaques bearing the names of Southgate’s servicemen and civilians who lost their lives in the Second World War were stolen and damage was caused to the memorial in Broomfield Park. Following research I discovered that this desecration is far from unique and sadly up and down the country there have been attacks on War Memorials ranging from graffiti and vandalism to serious damage and theft. Regional and national press coverage reveal that last year there were over 50 acts of desecration of War Memorials such as:

• Wreaths laid to mark Holocaust Memorial Day were destroyed
• Nazi swastikas being sprayed onto a memorial in Fleetwood, Lancashire
• A stone cross in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Llanwit was smashed and bronze crosses were stolen

The number of incidents are probably much higher but these desecrations are not reported as a discrete offence. At present, the law does not recognise the special status of War Memorials and desecrators can only face a maximum of 3 months imprisonment in magistrates courts for criminal damage.

I therefore wish to introduce the Desecration of War Memorials Bill, which has cross party support, to ensure that we reflect the importance of war memorials. The Bill will properly punish those who show such disregard for our brave servicemen, women and civilians when they desecrate a War Memorial. If my Bill was to become law and amend the Criminal Damage Act 1971 then desecrators would receives a level of punishment that is suitable for the seriousness of this crime. This would enable Judges to have the appropriate powers to allow these cases to be dealt with by Crown Courts where the judges could sentence up to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

It is unacceptable that war memorials have no specific legal protection. We have a responsibility to make sure our memorials are protected. The law needs to reflect the public's concern about these acts of desecration which show little respect for the brave men and women commemorated by the war memorials in our communities. We need legislation to reflect that these acts are more than vandalism but are an attack on our country’s heritage and remembrance of those who gave their lives in our name. War Memorials represent the values of our country; an attack on them constitutes an attack on our values. My Bill would ensure that those who desecrate War Memorials face the proper penalties.

There is of course no immediate prospect of my Bill becoming law in this Parliament but I would hope that a future Parliament would seriously consider the issue and that in any event sentencing guidelines are revised to deal with these specific offences. I also hope that reporting of these offences will be improved so that wider issues of protection of war memorials can be addressed.