Blair to join Bush for New York ceremony

Tony Blair is planning to join George W Bush in a ceremony in New York to commemorate the lives of those people who died in the 11 September terror attacks.

Though Downing Street declined to confirm the plans, citing security concerns, it is thought that the Prime Minister will make a brief speech in the city around the time of the anniversary of the atrocities.

A memorial will also be held in London at St Paul's Cathedral, where around 2,000 people, including the Prince of Wales, government ministers and William Farish, the US ambassador, will mark the anniversary.

Mr Blair has vowed to stand firm alongside the United States in the war on terror prompted by the attacks on the World Trade Centre, but has repeatedly appealed for a new era of religious tolerance and racial harmony. His remarks are expected to reflect that stance.

As the 11 September anniversary approaches, plans are being put in place for a day of remembrance in New York led by the city's former mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. They are expected to begin with a roll-call at Ground Zero – the scene of the worst of the terror attacks – of each person who died there.

The ceremonies are expected to be unostentatious and reflective. Processions of pipers from each of New York's five boroughs will meet at the site of the attacks for a period of silence at 8.46am, the moment when the first plane struck the twin towers.

Each building with a bell in the city will be asked to ring it at 10.28am, to mark the time when the second tower collapsed.

Families who lost loved ones will be allowed to go down into the area where the towers – for years a powerful symbol of New York and America's prosperity – once stood. But shops and businesses will be open to signal the city's commitment to building its future.

The President is expected to attend a ceremony in Battery Park, south Manhattan, to light an eternal flame. The evening will round off with candlelit ceremonies and concerts in Central Park and other parks in the city.

Events will be broadcast to several public places across the city for New Yorkers to watch.

Meanwhile in London, 2,000 people, including families of the British victims, will be in St Paul's for a service, which will be relayed on loudspeakers to anyone who wishes to congregate outside.

And in a lasting tribute to the victims of 11 September, a memorial garden to the 67 Britons who died in the attacks will be constructed in the park in Grosvenor Square, London, close to the US embassy.

The design is for an oval space with flowerbeds on one side and an oak pergola with a pavilion on the other. A plaque commemorating the victims will lie at the centre.

The venue became a focal point for British people to express their grief and sympathy in solidarity with the United States.

There are also designs in train for a permanent memorial at Ground Zero when New York rebuilds the district where the planes hit.

But early proposals for the memorial and redevelopment of Ground Zero have so far failed to find favour with New Yorkers, though all seem to agree that the original "footprints" of the towers should be preserved in some way.

Many have already registered their disapproval of six proposals put forward by the Port Authority, which owns the site, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Critics said they were not ambitious enough and included too much office space.