Memorial of Tipu Sultan's descendant to be installed in UK

Noor, who was executed by Nazis at Dachau in Germany, was posthumously awarded Britain's top honour the George Cross in 1949.

She was one of only three women agents recruited by Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE), a secret organisation started by former British premier Winston Churchill.

Noor was the first female radio operator to be sent to Nazi-occupied France in 1943 and used the code name 'Madeleine'.

She did invaluable work for the French Resistance. Noor was captured by the Nazis, brutally tortured and killed in Dachau concentration camp. She was only 30.

Noor, the only Indian woman to get the George Cross, was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by France.

The memorial will be in the form of a bust. It comes after months of campaigning by Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust and an Early Day Motion tabled by Labour MP Valerie Vaz in the House Commons in July.

"Noor deserves this recognition," a delighted Vaz said. "It is the most wonderful news," Shrabani Basu, author of 'Spy Princess', the Life of Noor Inayat Khan and founder of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust, said.

"It means her memory will be preserved for future generations. It will not only be a memorial to an inspirational Indian woman but also a memorial for peace, as Noor was a Sufi and believed in non-violence. Noor's sacrifice will not have been in vain," Basu said.

The bust, to be sculpted by Karen Newman, will be erected at a spot in Gordon Square after the memorial trust set up her memory manages to raise 65,000 pounds.

Noor used to play in Gordon Square as a child. As a secret agent she lived nearby on 4 Taviton Street, and would often spend her off days reading on one of the benches in the Square.