Silent march for lost heroes

HEARTBROKEN NHS staff marched on Downing Street in a silent procession to honour their 240 fallen comrades.

The group, some wearing scrubs, held a candlelight vigil to shame Boris Johnson’s government over the deaths of NHS and social care workers.

They stood with heads bowed as the names of the dead were read out.

Iain Wilson, a nurse for more than a decade, said:

“We’re upset and angry at how the virus got out of control with more lives lost than they should have.

“It didn’t need to be. We didn’t have to have delays, underfunding, disorganisation and the Government ignoring advice to lock down sooner.”

Iain, a cancer care specialist, was redeployed to intensive care duties at the height of the pandemic. He said: “It’s been the biggest challenge of my career. The NHS has risen to it.”

The socially-distanced marchers set off from St Thomas’s Hospital, across Westminster Bridge. Among those honoured were Adil El Tayar, 63, the first surgeon to die, and Lynsay Coventry, 54, the first midwife.