Families of police murdered in Lanarkshire ask for bravery recognition pledge to be honoured

Two families are calling on the Home Secretary to honour pledges made to recognise the bravery of policemen who were murdered in Lanarkshire.

Constable George Taylor, 27, was killed by Robert Mone and Thomas McCulloch in 1976 after they broke out of the State Hospital at Carstairs, having murdered a nurse and a patient.

Detective Sergeant Ross Hunt, 56, was stabbed to death by three members of a family in Larkhall, Lanarkshire, in 1983 while helping colleagues make an arrest.

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Downing Street had claimed no bravery medal applications were made at the time of their deaths.

But George Barnsley of the Lanarkshire Police ­Historical Society says he has a 1977 letter from an ex-chief constable to then Scottish secretary Bruce Millan recommending George for an award, the Sunday Mail reports.

The families believe both men are entitled to the George Medal, Queen’s Commendation for Bravery and Queens Gallantry Medal.

George’s son David met Yvette Cooper at a National Police ­Memorial Day Service last September where she backed the campaign and vowed to help.

David, 56, of Law, Lanarkshire, said: “Now that she is Home Secretary we would like her to be true to her word.”

The families also hit out at delays in awarding the Elizabeth Emblem, a new bravery medal for all ­emergency service workers and public servants who have died in the line of duty.

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They have heard nothing six months after applying. Ross Hunt’s son Philip Hunt, 64, who lives in Cheshire, said: “I just feel we are being forgotten.”

The Cabinet Office said applications for the ­Elizabeth Emblem were being processed.

The Home Office declined to comment.

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