Westminster Holocaust memorial backed by 174 MPs and peers after opposition from Royal Parks

Museum next to parliament would be reminder to 'each one of us to stand up and tackle hatred, intolerance and injustice', says cross-party letter

The design of the proposed memorial was chosen following a competition run by the government (Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects)

More than 170 MPs and peers have signed a joint letter supporting a proposed Holocaust memorial in Westminster, after the plans were criticised by the charity which runs the park where it would be built.

The cross-party group of politicians said the new monument and accompanying museum in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament, would “stand as a testimony to the need for each one of us to stand up and tackle hatred, intolerance and injustice”.

The Royal Parks Foundation, which manages the gardens, has objected to the proposal “given the impact it will have on a popular public amenity space in an area of the capital with few public parks”.

More than 11,000 people have also signed a petition opposing the plans, which campaigners warn would “kill once and for all” the tranquillity of the park.

But the cross-party letter, signed by 151 MPs and 23 members of the House of Lords, argues there is “no better location” for the memorial.

It said: “It will allow us to examine the Holocaust through British eyes and will be a permanent reminder of where hate can lead if left unchecked, bearing witness to the more than six million Jewish people and others murdered by the Nazis. This National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will further knowledge and awareness of the Holocaust, being an accessible location to people of all ages, and complimenting existing educational activity across the country.

“Despite commitments to ‘Never Again’, we have witnessed genocide since the Holocaust, making the aim of education and awareness of the consequences of hate so important.

“This Memorial and Learning Centre will stand as a testimony to the need for each one of us to stand up and tackle hatred, intolerance and injustice, wherever and whenever it is found.”

MPs who signed the letter include Labour's Yvette Cooper, Conservative former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, and the Independent Group's Luciana Berger, who quit Labour this week over the party's handling of antisemitism.

The memorial's design features 23 large bronze fin structures that visitors can walk among, leading to an underground learning centre.

It was chosen following a public competition held by the government, which announce the project in 2016.

The Royal Parks said it "strongly supports" the principle of the project but believes the scale and design would have "significant harmful impacts" on the "character and function" of the park.

In a submission to Westminster City Council's planning team this month, the charity warned the learning centre would "fundamentally change the historic character and associated vistas in and out of the park".

Victoria Tower Gardens would be home to a new Holocaust museum that has objectors say would 'dominate' the area (Getty)

An anticipated one million visitors a year would create "queues and congestion", it added.

Sir David Adjaye, the architect leading the memorial's design team, has angered opponents of the project by saying that "disrupting the pleasure of being in a park is key to the thinking".

The council has received 678 public comments objecting to the memorial plan and 36 in support. Its decision on the application is expected in April.