Today marks the 34th anniversary of the tragic, seemingly senseless, deaths of five members of a loving, close- knit family: Nevill and June Bamber, their adopted daughter, Sheila Caffell and her six-year-old twin boys, Nicholas and Daniel.
Although, in keeping with all those who support this campaign, I know the sequence of events which led to this tragedy, I did not know those who lost their lives at White House Farm, but I have complete trust in the picture of them, painted by Jeremy, the sixth victim of what took place that summer night.
Nevill and June were the personification of kindness and decency, who created a warm, caring home for those they loved. Sheila was a devoted mother, daughter and sister, with talent and charm to match her nature, and the personalities of those two, dear, six-year-old boys, reflected the love and care that surrounded their lives.
Knowing this, makes the manner in which they met their deaths all the more unfathomable, from any perspective. They will be remembered today - and every other day that dawns in the lives of those who loved and mourn them.
It is also entirely in keeping with the sentiments of this day that we remember the other victims of the tragedy.
Jeremy, of course, did not perish that awful night; instead, the state has kept him buried alive in a prison cell for over three decades; stealing not only his freedom, but the experience of living and of grieving for his family in decency and peace.
Along with people, concepts - which this state claims to be the foundations of a decent society - joined the list of victims. In the aftermath of the tragedy, truth and justice were kidnapped; a crime made more despicable by the perpetrators dressing their actions in a cloak labelled as the law of the land.
We campaigners have always believed that the walls of this dam of deceit, which has entombed Jeremy these decades, would eventually burst. The tide of truth, the whole truth, is too strong for man-made lies and corruption to withstand in perpetuity.
And I repeat, our continued fight to gain our friend's freedom is entirely in keeping with remembering and mourning Nevill, June, Sheila, Nicholas and Daniel. I believe that nobody would have fought more to set Jeremy free, than those who he loved and who loved him.
