Removal of Statue of Sir Keith Park From Trafalgar Square, Wednesday 5 May at 09.00 hrs

Permanent Bronze Statue of Park to be Unveiled in Waterloo Place on Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 2010

LONDON, May 4, 2010 - The memorial statue of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park will
be removed from the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London on Wednesday
5 May 2010. The removal process will commence at 09.00 hrs.

Sir Keith Park commanded Number 11 Group of Fighter Command,
responsible for the defence of London and the South East of England. He
therefore commanded the squadrons which bore the brunt of the Battle of
Britain. The failure to defeat the RAF in 1940 is seen as Germany's first
major setback in the Second World War - forcing the abandonment of the
planned invasion of Britain.

Park was a New Zealander, who had fought in the First World
War in the field artillery first at Gallipoli, and then the Somme where he
was wounded and evacuated to England. Medically graded unfit to continue
service with the artillery, Park joined the Royal Flying Corps, remaining
with the air arm when it was re-formed as the Royal Air Force.

Marshal of the RAF, Lord Tedder, said of Park: "If ever any
one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I don't believe it is recognised
how much this one man, with his leadership, his calm judgement and his skill,
did to save not only this country, but the world."

Terry Smith, Chairman of the Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign,
said:

"Sir Keith Park was pivotal in organising the defence of our
country and capital city during the Battle of Britain, and was a key figure
in ensuring the survival of our nation. The statue has been a fitting
memorial to Park, situated prominently on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar
Square, in the city which he helped to defend in 1940. Park's statue has
fittingly sat beneath Nelson's Column - a memorial to another great commander
who likewise defended Britain from invasion 135 years earlier."

The Trafalgar Square memorial statue of Sir Keith Park was
erected 6 months ago as an exceptional and one-off event, in tribute to
Park's courage and leadership.

The 5 metre high statue is being donated by The Sir Keith Park
Memorial Campaign to the RAF Museum in Hendon, where it will be displayed to
the public in a permanent gallery which holds the Battle of Britain
Collection. This collection explores the history of the Battle of Britain and
the aircraft that fought when the Royal Air Force stood alone against the
might of Germany.

A new permanent bronze statue of Sir Keith Park will be
unveiled during the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain period, on 15
September 2010, Battle of Britain Day at a formal memorial ceremony in
Waterloo Place, London.

The GLA's Fourth Plinth Commissioning Programme in Trafalgar
Square will recommence with Yinka Shonibare's 'Nelson's Ship in a Bottle'.

High resolution images of the removal of the statue in
Trafalgar Square will be available for the media to view and download free of
charge by 11am on 5 May from www.vismedia.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC and
Bar, DFC, DCL, MA, RAF was the New Zealand born RAF Air Vice-Marshal who
commanded Number 11 Group, Fighter Command, responsible for the air defence
of London and South East England during the Battle of Britain. His
inspirational leadership and tactical brilliance was central to Britain
winning the battle, which in turn helped determine the outcome of the entire
Second World War. Sir Keith went on to lead the air defence of Malta in 1942,
subsequently reaching the rank of Air Chief Marshal in South East Asia at the
end of the war. During the First World War, Sir Keith served at Gallipoli and
then the Somme before becoming a pilot and shooting down 20 enemy aircraft.

2. The design by sculptor Les Johnson has been used for both
the statue that has been exhibited temporarily for six months on Trafalgar
Square's Fourth Plinth, as well as for the permanent memorial statue which
will be erected in Waterloo Place on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of
Britain on 15 September 2010, Battle of Britain Day.

3. The Trafalgar Square statue is made of fibreglass with a
bronze resin finish. It was created in New Zealand by Better Workshops. The
permanent bronze statue is in the process of being created by Les Johnson and
the Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry in Limehouse.

4. The Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign was launched on 7
March 2008 when Battle of Britain pilots, senior serving RAF officers, a
great-great niece of Sir Keith Park, politicians and many other supporters
assembled in Trafalgar Square beside a full-size replica Spitfire.

5. The Campaign has received support from a broad constituency
including the RAF, Battle of Britain veterans, members of the Park family and
the New Zealand cricket team. It also secured the support of the leader of
every New Zealand political party, including the Prime Minister and Defence
Minister. In this country more than 100 MPs and a number of House of Lords
members from all parties, former politicians such as Tony Benn and Lord
Tebbit, as well as well-known names such as Sir Patrick Moore, Frederick
Forsythe, Dan Snow and Edward Fox have backed the Campaign.

6. Over 10,000 people have signed the various Campaign
petitions.

7. Terry Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of Tullett
Prebon plc and Deputy Chairman of Collins Stewart plc. He has a keen interest
in military history. For more information please visit
www.terrysmithblog.com.

8. Other supporters of the Campaign include: Boris Johnson,
Mayor of London; the Worshipful Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr. Duncan
Sandys; Algy Cluff; Marshal of the Royal Air Force the Lord Craig of Radley;
Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge; Air Marshal Clifford Spink; Lord Lee of
Trafford; Lord Selkirk; Rt Hon Lord Trefgarne; Dr. Vincent Cable MP; Mark
Field MP; Richard Benyon MP; Hon. Nicholas Soames MP and Sir Stuart Rose.

9. For more information, please visit our website
www.sirkeithpark.com.

    Media enquiries:

    Charlotte Kirkham          James Wallis
    Tel. +44(0)7989-528421     Tel. +44(0)7775-556000
    Kirkham@mcomgroup.com      Wallis@mcomgroup.com

Media enquiries: Charlotte Kirkham, Tel. +44(0)7989-528421, Kirkham at mcomgroup.com; James Wallis, Tel. +44(0)7775-556000, Wallis at mcomgroup.com