UFFC Annual Remembrance Procession: On the last Saturday of October each year The United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC), a coalition of of people whose family members have been killed by police and in prisons, immigration detention and secure psychiatric hospitals make a procession of Remembrance from Trafalgar Square to a rally opposite Downing Street. In 2017 this was on Saturday 28th October. This year, 2026, will be the 27th Annual Memorial Remembrance Procession and it starts at noon in Trafalgar Square this Saturday, 31st October 2026.
The pictures in this post were all taken by me at the 2017 procession, and you can read more about it on My London Diary at UFFC annual remembrance procession. Here I’ll post the text of the release from the UFFC about this year’s event. I hope that Andy Burnham will respond more quickly than his predecessor to this year’s letter.
Memorial Procession announced for Oct 31st 2026
On Saturday 31st October 2026, UFFC will march to Downing Street for our 27th Annual Memorial Remembrance Procession. We assemble to remember our loved ones, demand accountability, and break the silence surrounding the alarming rise of deaths in state custody across the UK.
For nearly three decades, our coalition of bereaved families has led this solemn procession. Our collective pressure has historically forced major changes – from the rollout of body-worn video cameras to the enactment of Mental Health Units Use of Force Act (Seni’s Law). Yet, despite these hard-won reforms, state violence persists, and families continue to face a wall of silence.
27 Years of Tragic Delays: Slow Justice is No Justice
This year’s procession takes place against a backdrop of deep political frustration. It took Prime Minister Keir Starmer 21 weeks and 5 days to respond to a letter hand-delivered by our families. The response we finally received, penned by Minister of State for Justice Lord Timpson, offered mere platitudes. While Timpson praised our efforts to ensure bereaved voices are heard, the government entirely ignored our explicit call for a direct meeting.
While the state references the proposed Hillsborough Law Bill, reforms on ‘seriously improper acts’, and promises of legal aid funding for inquests, we are left asking: When will these laws actually be implemented? and What about our unresolved cases?
The Fight Continues
Many UFFC families, such as Celia Stubbs (partner of Blair Peach, killed by police in 1979), have been campaigning for nearly half a century with agonisingly little acknowledgment. These families have also been spied on by the state (See Spycops). Much like the survivors of the Hillsborough disaster and the Post Office scandal, our families are forced to expend years of energy, emotional trauma, and funds just to demand basic truth.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Join us on 31st October to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the families, break the cycle of state impunity, and demand immediate action from the government.
You can find pictures and accounts of most of the other UFFC processions from the first I attended in 2003 until 2019 and 2021 on My London Diary and from more recent years in my Facebook albums.
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All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
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