I vividly remember how the 9/11 terrorist attacks fundamentally shook our society.
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 had seen 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 from these countries.
Those who lost loved one 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 more integrated foreign and defence policy with our nearestneighbours. 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.
Stephen Morgan MP
