MP to drive donated ambulance to Ukraine

An MP who is taking an ambulance to Ukraine has said she is "honoured" to contribute towards humanitarian efforts in the country.

Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Rachel Taylor, is set to take on the 1,300-mile drive from Birch Coppice to the Poland-Ukraine border.

The ambulance has been paid for by fundraising by an automotive parts firm, based in her constituency.

LKQ said it had delivered more than 200 tonnes of aid since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, including 34 ambulances and more than £6,000 worth of medicine.

Taylor - who is also chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics - met with a delegation from the Ukrainian embassy in October.

She said seeing the dedication of the team coordinating the relief effort had been "truly inspiring".

"I'm really excited to be playing my small part in supporting Ukrainians in their fight for freedom," she said.

"I know the strength of feeling in North Warwickshire and Bedworth about the need for the UK to keep standing strongly with Ukrainians in their hour of need."

Taylor was elected as the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth at the 2024 general election.

Before that, she was a local councillor in North Warwickshire and worked as a property solicitor and has also previously served as a line judge and umpire at Wimbledon and in grassroots tennis.

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