I very much regret that the government has used the second anniversary of the crash to put out a grossly misleading statement

Victims' solicitor, Louise Christian

However, the ceremony was marked by the anger of families of the victims and a solicitor representing them, who continue to feel rail safety is not being given the attention it needs.

The Right Reverend Michael Colclough, the Bishop of Kensington, referred to the continuing anger felt by injured victims and bereaved relatives.

As he conducted the ceremony, he said: "The memorial has no neat frills and does not have all the stone polished, so its stark ruggedness reminds us of understandable and righteous anger".

Olivia and Piers, who live in Brighton and are both pupils at Brighton College, lost their father Anthony, 47, in the crash.

Mr Beeton, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, was a senior civil servant in the Northern Ireland Office.

Antoine was eight weeks old when his father Delroy, 39, a builder from Lewisham, south east London, was killed in the crash.

Floral tributes were placed at the foot of the memorial, which carries the name of each victim.

31 people died in the crash in October 1999

Before the unveiling, in bright sunshine, the Bishop of Kensington, the Right Reverend Michael Colclough, called for a one-minute silence in memory of the dead.

He said the crash had: "left families and friends of both the bereaved and the survivors stunned and apprehensive of the future".

Bishop Colclough also said: "It is a strong memorial, and a vivid reminder to all who pass by, on rail track or road, of an event that we as a nation must not forget".

Margaret Beeton, mother of Piers and Olivia, said: "The unveiling of the memorial is a final goodbye from us to Anthony."

On rail safety she said: "They are trying, but it's taking so long.

"Nobody wanted anyone to go through what we went through again, but already other people have."

Solicitor Louise Christian, who represents some of the bereaved, criticised transport secretary Stephen Byers' statement on Friday that all trains using Paddington station, would be fitted with train protection systems by the end of 2001.

Ms Christian said: "I very much regret that the government has used this second anniversary to put out this grossly misleading statement.

"The government knows perfectly well that the bereaved want automatic train protection on trains and they should have forced all train companies using Paddington to have it fitted."

'Money not safety'

Some of the bereaved flew in from America and South Africa, while Angus and Christine Stewart arrived on Wednesday from Wellington, New Zealand.

Mr Stewart, originally from Scotland, lost his son Allan, 28, a chartered accountant from Reading in Berkshire, in the crash.

Mr Stewart condemned the lack of progress in rail safety improvements.

He said: "People seem more interested in making money than safety.

"I think there's much to be done. There still seems little to prevent trains going through red signals."