Boris Johnson said he would "absolutely" support a campaign to erect a statue in honour of Sir Captain Tom Moore, as the nation came together to mark his memory with a clap on Wednesday night.
Asked during the Downing Street press conference if he believes there should be a permanent memorial to Captain Tom Mr Johnson said: "I'm absolutely, of course, open to that. I know that that's the kind of thing people would want to support and we will be working with his family to see what they feel is most appropriate."
The Health Secretary also confirmed on Wednesday his contribution will be formally marked.
"I will ensure we mark his contribution properly and appropriately at the right moment,” Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast.
Asked whether a statue might be built "in possibly his home town or where he was born or in London", Mr Hancock told LBC: "Yes, I do think that we should find a way, at the right time, to honour the contribution that he made to the NHS and he was an inspiration to so many people."
The 100-year-old's death has prompted reaction from around the world, after he raised more than £32 million for the NHS during the first coronavirus lockdown.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Boris Johnson had urged the nation to take part in a clap at 6pm to mark the memory of Captain Tom.
The House of Commons fell silent in tribute to the veteran ahead of Prime Minister's Questions and Mr Johnson told MPs the centenarian had dedicated his life to serving others.
"We all now have the opportunity to show our appreciation for him and all that he stood for and believed in,” he said.
"That is why I encourage everyone to join in a national clap for Captain Tom and all those health workers for whom he raised money at 6pm this evening."
David Carter, CEO Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which provided Captain Tom's care, said health care staff involved in his treatment over the past few days and years were inspired "deeply" by the war hero.
Speaking on Wednesday he said: “We’ll be engaging with our staff, including those frontline care workers who have supported Tom and got to know him over the years, how best to further mark his life, commemorate him and pay permanent tribute to him at the hospital."
Captain Tom’s family said they were “incredibly touched” by the public's suggestion to “Clap for Tom”, and said they would be taking part “with huge love in their hearts for their father, grandfather and father-in-law”.
The family were forced to release a timeline of events leading up to his death on Tuesday night, after comments were made online about their trip to Barbados in December.
They confirmed he tested negative for the virus after they returned to the UK on January 6.
Piers Morgan said on Wednesday that the family had told him they had been subjected to “mocking and abusing” comments before and after Captain Tom passed in relation to the trip.
The timeline confirmed he did not test positive for the virus until the day he was discharged from hospital on January 22, he spent 10 days being treated at home before being admitted again on January 31.
Charities have vowed that the legacy of Captain Tom, who died on Tuesday morning after testing positive for Covid-19, will live on "for years and years".
Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together, said the centenarian has left a "huge and lasting legacy".
She added that a “national tribute” to Captain Tom “feels very fitting”.
“We’ve already seen wellbeing rooms and gardens named after him by NHS charities across the country and, when the time is right, we’d love to see a tribute to mark the huge difference that Captain Sir Tom’s fundraising made to patients and staff through NHS Charities,” she said.
“For us, it’s important that the time is right and this is done alongside Captain Sir Tom’s family and others.”
Presenter Carol Vorderman, who previously honoured Captain Tom at the Pride of Britain awards, said he "deserves a stone in Westminster Abbey".
"I think he deserves a stone in Westminster Abbey because I think he embodies this whole terrible pandemic which we are all living through,” Ms Vorderman told Good Morning Britain.
Other notable Britons with memorial tablets in the Abbey include Sir Winston Churchill and composer Benjamin Britten. The Abbey said they had not yet been formally approached on the matter, but it would need to be considered by the Dean and Chapter.
Brigadier Andrew Meek CBE, President of the Duke of Wellington’s Association (the regiment Captain Tom served with in WWII) told The Telegraph if a statue was to be erected in his memory he would be only the second person from the regiment to be bestowed with the honour, the first being the first Duke of Wellington himself.
Two in five (38 per cent) of people said Captain Tom should have a statue dedicated to him in Parliament Square, according to polling by Opium Research.
But more than half (57 per cent) said a hospital should be named after him.
Sir Tom had been taken to hospital on Sunday after being treated for pneumonia for some time and testing positive for coronavirus last week.
His family praised the care he had received from the NHS and said they had been able to spend time with him in his final hours but said he had tested positive for Covid on day of his discharge from hospital.
In a statement, his daughters, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira, said: "Whilst he'd been in so many hearts for just a short time, he was an incredible father and grandfather, and he will stay alive in our hearts forever."
