Thomas Heatherwick has been asked by the government to advise on how to commemorate the pandemic and help the nation mourn.

The designer met Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith earlier this year for what a spokesperson termed an “informal discussion of general ideas around how the nation could remember those who have lost their lives and recognise those involved in the unprecedented pandemic response”.

Contrary to some reports, the meeting was not specifically about a memorial, said the spokesperson, adding that no decisions have been made.

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