Elizabeth Medal campaigner Bryn honoured with MBE

9 January 2023

Bryn Hughes with Sarah Cooper, chair of West Mercia Police Federation, at the Federation conference in 2022.

West Mercia Police Federation chair Sarah Cooper has congratulated Elizabeth Medal campaigner Bryn Hughes after he was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours.

Bryn, whose daughter PC Nicola Hughes was murdered in 2012 alongside fellow Greater Manchester Police PC Fiona Bone in a gun and grenade ambush, is the driving force behind the campaign for a posthumous award for officers killed on duty.

The former prison officer said Nicola would be proud of his MBE which was awarded for his work supporting young people who have lost family members through violent crime.

Sarah Cooper welcomed Bryn’s award and said the official recognition for his work with the PC Nicola Hughes Memorial Fund was fully deserved.

“Bryn works extremely hard, both on the campaign for the Elizabeth Medal and with the charity he set up in his daughter’s name, and it is right that he has been honoured in this way,” she said.

“West Mercia Police Federation is unstinting in its support for Bryn and his campaigning work and, like him, believes all emergency workers who are killed on duty deserve to be recognised for the sacrifice they make.

“We ask an awful lot of our blue light personnel and their families and hope approval for an Elizabeth Medal is granted before too long.”

Bryn said the MBE came as a poignant way to mark the 10th anniversary of his daughter’s murder.

He said: “I suppose it’s tinged with that bit of sadness as well because the only reason I’ve been nominated and been given the award was because of what happened to Nicola and the work I’ve done since then.

“It marks the 10-year anniversary so it’s quite a poignant way to mark it to be honest.”

Asked what Nicola would think of his award, Bryn said: “I think she would be proud. She would be very proud.”

Supporters of the Elizabeth Medal campaign believe emergency services workers deserve the same recognition as military personnel who are posthumously honoured with the Elizabeth Cross which is presented to relatives of those killed in action.

The Police Federation is calling for top level talks with ministers in a bid to secure approval for the new medal.