Today the Shadow Home Secretary, and Member of Parliament for Torfaen, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP joined local representatives in marking Remembrance Sunday.

Remembrance Sunday is commemorated annually in recognition of the service and sacrifice our armed forces community made during the First and Second World wars, and in subsequent conflicts. This year, Welsh Government restrictions introduced to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic meant private memorials replaced parades traditionally observed in Torfaen. Nonetheless, an exemption announced by the First Minister Mark Drakeford from the outset of Wales’ firebreak lockdown permitted small, in person commemorations to take place on Remembrance Sunday.

Mr Thomas-Symonds MP, together with Senedd Member Lynne Neagle and Torfaen County Borough Council Leader Anthony Hunt, attended one such wreath laying ceremony organised by the Royal British Legion in Pontypool today. In remarks delivered shortly after the ceremony, the Shadow Home Secretary thanked the organisers and said he had paid his respects “on behalf of all Torfaen residents”.

Throughout his time in Parliament, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP has backed Wales’ armed forces community. In 2018, he challenged the Department for Work and Pensions over unfair and unnecessary face-to-face medical assessments imposed on Welsh veterans attempting to access benefits, and, in March this year, at a Westminster Hall debate on the contribution of Wales’ armed forces, he called for the heroism of ex-service personnel to be repaid with appropriate investment in veterans’ mental health services. In his comments Mr Thomas-Symonds stated that he would “never cease championing our veterans”.