We must protect the gains made since 2001

I was a student in Bristol at the time, and in the days that followed I recall the then Labour MP for Bristol West Valerie Davey explaining that the horror of what people saw on their televisions had prompted random acts of kindness between strangers in the city.

Twenty years on, we remember the 2,977 people killed from 90 countries, including 67 UK citizens.

The attacks defined a decade of US and UK foreign and defence policy, with military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq following swiftly as part of the ‘war on terror’.

We pay tribute to the bravery and professionalism of our forces exhibited during those conflicts and we must ensure that our society fulfils its promise to care for our veterans.

In the two decades that followed, we have ensured that no terrorist attacks on allied soil have been launched from these countries.

But those who lost loved ones in New York or the conflicts that followed have had their lives forever altered by loss, with empty spaces at dinner tables, occasions missed, lives not lived.

The reverberations of the attacks were felt again when the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan once again last month, meaning the country could once again become fertile ground for terror.

In this environment, and with the US increasingly reluctant to be the world’s policeman, the UK must pursue a foreign and defence policy that is more integrated with our nearest neighbours.

This is now the only way to protect the gains made at home and abroad in the two decades since the attacks, and ensure we never again witness the horror of that day in New York.