Plans to honour Keith
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HERO Pc Keith Palmer’s bravery will be recognised with one of the top honours for his courage in the face of a terror attack.
The unarmed officer died trying to protect Parliament from Khalid Masood’s terror rampage last month.
His colleagues are determined his sacrifice will be remembered forever.
Senior officers are lobbying government ministers to give their fallen comrade the highest posthumous honour possible.
Danger
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said senior figures in the Privy Council are deep in talks about which honour to award the officer this summer.
He said: “I can’t comment on what it will be, whether it will be the Queen’s Medal for bravery or the George Medal, but there will be some form of posthumous award.”
The Queen can grant awards for exceptional bravery and sacrifice in the face of grave danger.
The George Cross is the UK’s highest civil decoration for acts of heroism and courage. The George Medal is the second level decoration.
The Queen’s Gallantry Medal can be awarded for inspiring acts of bravery and The Queen’s Commendation for Bravery is handed out for courage in the face of extreme personal danger. Earlier this year, the Queen’s Gallantry Medal was awarded to Pc Nathan Lucy for saving a woman from drowning.
Civilian Philip GoodeveDocker was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Commendation for bravery after he sacrificed himself to save his colleagues’ lives on an Arctic expedition.
As well as the high honours from The Queen herself, the police force looks set to commend their colleague in a special ceremony.
Every July, the force honours its own members for outstanding acts of bravery.
Frenzied
This year, officers will honour the father-of-one who tried to stop Masood’s frenzied attack on the Palace of Westminster.
A spokesman for the Police Federation said: “There are discussions with the Metropolitan Police Federation about a bravery commendation.
“At this stage there is no way we can say what form that will take.”