Royals to attend twin towers remembrance service

Government ministers and senior members of the Royal Family will attend a British service of remembrance to mark the first anniversary of the 11 September terror attacks, Downing Street revealed yesterday.

Government ministers and senior members of the Royal Family will attend a British service of remembrance to mark the first anniversary of the 11 September terror attacks, Downing Street revealed yesterday.

Details of the ceremony, which is likely to be held at St Paul's Cathedral next month, will be revealed today by Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Also expected at the service are some of the relatives of the 78 Britons who were killed.

It will be the first time the Prime Minister has joined the Royal Family at an event since the controversy over the Queen Mother's funeral arrangements. Buckingham Palace said yesterday that it was being consulted about the arrangements but the Government was "taking the lead". A permanent memorial to victims of the suicide attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania is also to be erected outside the US embassy in Grosvenor Square, London. The Independent on Sunday revealed at the weekend that the memorial could cost up to £1m and would take the form of a garden rather than a cenotaph.

The decision was taken after months of consultation with the bereaved families. The memorial, which is likely to incorporate a stone plinth listing the names of the deceased, is planned to be opened to coincide with the second anniversary of the tragedy next year.