PFEW gets behind campaign to see London Bridge terror attack heroes awarded the George Cross

Rank-and-file officers are calling on Theresa May to lend her “personal support” to a campaign to recognise the heroics of two officers involved in the London Bridge terror attack. The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has written to the Prime Minister asking for the pair to be awarded the UK’s highest non-military decoration – the George Cross. Police Constables Wayne Marques, 38, and Charlie Guenigault, 25, put their lives on the line to stop the three extremists’ murderous rampage on June 3 this year. PC Marques, with the British Transport Police (BTP), and PC Guenigault, from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), both suffered horrific injuries when, unarmed, they confronted Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redoune and Youssef Zaghba. PC Guenigault was off-duty when he took on the three knife-wielding attackers with his fists while PC Marques was only carrying a baton. PFEW chair Steve White has added the voice of every front line officer to a campaign which is being backed by the UK’s two top-selling newspapers, The Sun and Daily Mail. The PFEW letter to Mrs May describes how the tally of deaths and serious injuries would have been far higher had it not been for the heroic officers’ actions. Mr White said: “PC Guenigault and PC Marques demonstrated selfless bravery on that awful night. They ran towards danger despite the odds they faced and through their selfless acts of bravery, saved many lives while putting their own at risk. “Their bravery showed that the terrorist threat will never win and they both deserve the highest recognition from a grateful nation.” Survivor Brett Freeman – stabbed three times in the back and waiting “to be finished off” by the attackers – was saved by PC Guenigault. He suffered stabs wounds to the head, back, leg and stomach. A BTP spokesperson said: “The actions of one of our officers in response to the terrorist attacks this year was heroic and various methods of formal recognition are being taken forward by the force.” King George VI created the George Cross in 1940 to reward acts of bravery during World War II. It is the highest honour a non-military person can receive and can be awarded posthumously. MPS explosives officer Roger Philip Coad was policing’s last George Cross recipient – awarded it posthumously for the heroism he displayed in trying to diffuse an IRA bomb in London on August 29, 1975.