The events of 21 October 1966 resonate right across Wales. Many of our communities were created as a result of the rich seam of coal beneath our feet. Coal brought employment, it brought opportunities, it gave us infrastructure, but it did also extract a very heavy price. Many of us grew up with a coal tip perched upon the mountains above us. What happened in Aberfan could have happened almost anywhere that had a coal mine. Many of us grew up in very close-knit communities where you looked out for your neighbours and where your neighbours looked out for you. And it’s because of these links that we feel such a strong sense of solidarity with the people of Aberfan.

To those closest to the event, you must know that you have our support, you have our sympathy, you have our solidarity and you have our respect. It’s incumbent upon all of us and the generations that follow to ensure that we continue to remember what happened that day in Aberfan 50 years ago and today we will ensure that Wales will remember.