Ground zero flag to honour British victims

A tattered Union Flag discovered in the rubble of the World Trade Centre will feature at a ceremony in London honouring the dead of the 11 September attacks.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will be presented with the flag by New York police lieutenant Frank Dwyer at a service outside the American embassy in London. It was brought to Britain to honour the 67 British victims among the 3,000 dead.

A service of remembrance will be held at St Paul's Cathedral, which will be attended by 2,000 people, including relatives of the victims, the Prime Minister and the Prince of Wales. The service will coincide with a minute's silence expected to be observed in stations, seven airports, schools and factories at 1.46pm – 8.46am in New York – the time that the first hijacked aircraft struck the north tower. The London Stock Exchange, television stations and the TUC conference in Blackpool will also fall silent.

Keighley Vocal Union, from West Yorkshire, will represent England in the Rolling Requiem, a worldwide choral commemoration of the attacks. Mozart's Requiem will be performed in every time zone at 8.46am.

Liverpool will follow the lead of New York and shine two beams of light from the top of the Liver building for seven nights from 11 September.

In Manchester, a vigil involving 13 faiths will be held in Albert Square headed by the Rt Rev Terence Brain, the Catholic Bishop of Salford.

Across the country, firefighters will gather outside their stations for a minute's silence to honour their New York counterparts who died.