In a recent speech made by Chancellor Gordon Brown at the Royal United Services Institute in London, it has been announced that the Government has offered to help pay for a memorial to the victims of the July 7 bombing.

The chancellor has said the 52 innocent people who were killed by four West Yorkshire bombers would never be forgotten.

He added: "The Treasury stands ready to play a part in funding a memorial that the victims' families may consider fitting."

Annie Kiff-Wood, of the Cruse Bereavement counselling service, said such a memorial could provide comfort for the victims' families.

In the aftermath of the bombings the counselling service joined forces with others to create 7th July Assistance, a counselling and support group for people affected.

She added: "People, particularly when they have been bereaved by a national disaster, sometimes need to have this kind of public recognition.

"It can be important and a comfort. Families appreciated the public memorial service.

"If the Government is thinking of making a memorial I assume that just as there was public consultation about the service there would be discussions about what would be a fitting memorial."

The 7th July Assistance group brought together a
number of organisations, including the British Red Cross, the Metropolitan Police and the Salvation Army.
A small remembrance plaque has already been unveiled in Victoria Embankment Gardens, off London's Embankment.

A message on it from London Mayor Ken Livingstone reads: "The City will endure; it is the future of our world."