The sickening news of the theft of a memorial plaque commemorating the 1993 Warrington bombings this morning turns my stomach. Somewhere in Britain today that bit of metal will be handed over, no questions asked, and quietly melted down for as little as the price of a takeaway.

The metal dealer doing the melting won’t give a second thought to Tim Parry, 12, and three-year-old Johnathan Ball who died, or Tim’s father, Colin who spent years campaigning for peace after the bombings.

For the metal dealer and the thieves it’s easy money. There’s an unwritten understanding when a van load of metal turns up at the dealer that it doesn’t matter where it came from and no questions are asked. It’s all about the weight and cash in hand – I know these things.

And it has to stop.