June 4, 2025
The 80th Anniversary of Liberation Day in Jersey was always going to be a significant anniversary for the Island, and events to mark the occasion in London were similarly poignant. A Liberation Day reception hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons in Parliament on Tuesday 6th May provided a key opportunity to strengthen relationships with the UK Government and Parliament.
On the day of the reception, Ministers first took various meetings with UK Ministers and Parliamentarians, including the Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds MP and the Shadow Foreign Office Minister, Wendy Morton MP. Such meetings offer a crucial insight into key areas of policy which affect the island and allow Ministers to express Jersey’s priorities.
After attending the daily Evensong service at Westminster Abbey, where prayers were said in relation to Liberation Day, Ministers together with the Bailiff attended the reception on the Parliamentary Estate. The Governments of Jersey and Guernsey welcomed MPs, Peers, and diplomats, including: the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP – Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Lord (Fredrick) Ponsonby – Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice (who has responsibility for UK’s relationship with the Crown Dependencies), the Education Secretary, the Rt Hon. Bridget Phillipson MP, former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly MP, and of course Mr Speaker himself, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.
Diplomats and Ambassadors attended from across London’s diplomatic network, including: H.E Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador; H.E Miguel Berger, German Ambassador; and H.E Hélène Duchêne, French Ambassador.
Speaking alongside the Lord Chancellor, Wendy Morton MP and Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Deputy Farnham paid tribute to the courage of the ‘Liberation Generation’: Islanders who lived through the Occupation – and he reiterated the significance of Jersey’s close historical relationship with the UK.
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