Britain's first National Police Memorial Service was held yesterday at St Paul's Cathedral in London. In the congregation were the parents of Glenn Goodman, the Special Constable shot dead by an IRA gunman near Tadcaster in 1992. They told Mike Laycock what the event meant to them.

Margaret and Brian Goodman visit their son Glenn's grave near Tadcaster every day. And once a fortnight, they go to a memorial stone in the middle of the brewery town to lay fresh flowers.

There is no danger of this couple ever forgetting their "wonderful" son, who they say never forgot them while he was alive.

But now an opportunity has been created for the whole nation to remember Glenn, along with 4,000 other police officers, who have all been killed in the line of duty over the years. At last, a National Police Memorial Service has been staged, in the suitably-fitting splendour of St Paul's Cathedral, and the Goodmans, who travelled down to London yesterday for the service, are absolutely delighted.

"I think it's a brilliant idea," said Margaret. "The police get criticised so often, but people don't realise they do work hard and it's only the bad things they do that are brought to the front."

She said she wouldn't have missed the service for the world, and plans to attend future such events, which are now to be held annually.

Brian said: "It's a wonderful and much deserved tribute to all police men and women who have given their lives. As we can't bring them back, the service serves as a reminder of what our police service stands for, and of the price policemen pay in their efforts to preserve law and order.

"When they leave home for duty, as Glenn did, they have no idea of what the day or night holds for them, and sadly some do not return home. Their memory should be preserved, and not just by their families."

Glenn's murder on June 7, 1992, sent shockwaves through the police service nationally. He was a special constable, who had been accompanying regular police officer Sandy Kelly on patrol in the early hours of a Sunday morning in Tadcaster when they became suspicious about a parked car.

The vehicle drove off towards the A64, pursued by the policemen. After coming on to the dual carriageway, Paul Magee opened fire, seriously injuring PC Kelly and killing Glenn. He left a widow, Fiona, and ten-month-old son, Tom, who is now 13.

After a massive manhunt lasting several days, the culprits were caught and eventually put on trial at the Old Bailey in London.

The Goodmans attended the hearing, and will never forget their experiences in the public gallery, where they say IRA sympathisers repeatedly taunted and provoked them, but always in whispers that would not result in their expulsion from the courtroom.

Magee was jailed for life, but if the Goodmans drew any comfort from that, it was to be shattered by the Irish "peace process" and Good Friday agreement, which eventually heralded the early release of IRA prisoners from British jails.

The couple fought a dogged battle to prevent Magee's release, sending off letters to senior British and Irish politicians, right up to and including Tony Blair. "I wrote a total of 68 letters," said Brian. They even turned up at Yorkshire prisons when government ministers were paying official visits, such as one occasion when they managed to speak directly to then Home Secretary Jack Straw.

Brian remembers the feeling that they were getting nowhere, and says he recalls putting a hand on Mr Straw's shoulder as they departed, saying: "Watch out. Magee hasn't finished. You haven't heard the last of this."

But the release went ahead anyway in 2000, something which still leaves them bewildered and very angry, and hating Tony Blair almost as much as Magee. They say they did not agree with the release of prisoners, full stop.

But they had an additional reason to be bitter. They say that during the trial, it was made quite clear by the judge that this had not been an operational killing by the IRA.

Indeed, no mention was to be made of the IRA in case it prejudiced the jury. Even after he was convicted, it never became clear what he was doing in North Yorkshire in the first place. So why, they ask, was Magee treated as an IRA prisoner when it came to the release process years later?

The couple are quite open in admitting the whole process has left them feeling very bitter. "We feel we have been treated like second- class citizens."

But yesterday, as petals of remembrance - representing all those who have lost their lives - were scattered from the cathedral's Whispering Gallery into the dome, with Home Secretary David Blunkett and the Duchess of Gloucester among the congregation, they felt they were finally being treated with respect, and their son's work and sacrifice was given the official recognition it deserved.

Brian today praised the service, saying it had been a very apt tribute to the police officers who had died. "It was a wonderful occasion," he said. "The whole thing was very impressive. Margaret was enthralled by it all. The cathedral was absolutely packed."

Updated: 11:15 Monday, October 04, 2004