Gordon Brown and David Cameron back Bomber Command tribute

Gordon Brown and David Cameron have stepped into a row over plans to build a memorial to the 55,000 airmen of Bomber Command who died during the Second World War.

In a rare show of unity, both leaders are urging Westminster council to overrule local objections and approve the £2.5 million project for Green Park.

Mr Brown, in an appeal, described his "awe" at the sacrifice and dedication shown by the air crews. "A permanent memorial in their memory seems highly appropriate," he said. "I understand that the memorial is a dignified tribute to the 55,573 members of the Command, of all nationalities, who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Mr Cameron is also pressing the Tory borough to approve the plans. He said: "It is time the nation finally showed its gratitude by building a permanent memorial. I fully support this important campaign to do more to remember those brave men.

"Their deeds have not been recognised in the way the heroes from the Battle of Britain have been, but their sacrifices were just as great."

Westminster council is due to decide on the plan on May 13. Leading the objections is The Thorney Island Society, whose members include former Labour deputy leader Lord Hattersley, and Alan Duncan, the shadow prisons minister.

The society has set up a website to rally opposition, and complains that the "huge" memorial would mean the loss of an open space in the heart of London. It also claims that it would breach planning laws on the protection of parkland and a bar on new memorials in the area.

If the plan is approved by the planning committee it is hoped that work will be completed next year. The stone memorial features a central bronze sculpture of a seven-strong air crew and is to be built close to Hyde Park Corner.

Bomber Command suffered fatalities of almost 50 per cent of all those who flew on operations. The average age of its crews was 22.