STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
A Labour MP has said the £12 million to be spent on a commemorative book for primary school children about the Queen’s reign would be better spent on preventing the spread of Covid-19.
All primary school children across the UK will receive a book that celebrates the achievements of the monarch and will explore the role she has held over the past 70 years.
Brent Central MP Dawn Butler said that although she had a “huge amount of respect” for the Queen, the book would risk her becoming embroiled in political debate.
I’ve written to the Prime Minister outlining my concerns regarding the plan to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign by sending a commemorative book to all primary school children in the UK.
£12 million could be better spent preventing against further spread of Covid-19. My letter 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/0qOfMJoezC
— Dawn Butler MP✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) February 17, 2022
In a letter to Boris Johnson, she said: “At a time when the Department for Education has failed to ensure all schools have adequate ventilation, £12 million would go a long way to improving the situation and providing a bulwark against further spread of Covid-19 as infection rates remain high among young people.
“It is very rare for democratic states to send children commemorative books about their heads of state, and I hope the Government will reconsider this proposal: avoiding political controversy for the monarchy and putting the £12 million of public funds to better use.
“An alternative and more modern solution might be to make the proposed book an online resource.”
The book will explore the role of the monarch and what the Platinum Jubilee represents, so primary school children can understand the celebrations.
It will be available as an audio book, with plans for it to be in English, Welsh, Gaelic and Irish, in advance of the Jubilee holiday weekend.
The print version will include a QR code which children can scan to access further material online.
A Government spokesperson said: “The commemorative book for the Queen’s Jubilee is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth over the last 70 years.
“The ambition for the book is to be inclusive and speak to all children across the UK and we have been working with the publisher and the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for feedback on drafts of the book.
“It will not be a textbook for use in classes, but a chance to engage children in historic events during the Queen’s reign.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
