Karen Bradley MP Column 13.02.23

As many of you will have seen, last week President Zelenskyy visited the United Kingdom. He met the Prime Minister, gave a powerful address to both Houses of Parliament and met the King. As your MP, I was proud and honoured to join fellow Parliamentarians in the historic Westminster Hall to listen to President Zelenskyy on this very special occasion.

Many of you who have been on my coach trips to Parliament will remember Westminster Hall. It is very special, steeped in history and a really fitting place to welcome President Zelenskyy on his visit to the UK.

On this historic day, I was also delighted to have the opportunity to speak in Prime Minister’s Questions immediately before the visit. The session was mostly about Ukraine and the visit and it was really great to be able to mention the Tea Party I hosted recently, together with other North Staffordshire MPs, for the Ukrainian guests and their host families in our constituencies.

I asked the Prime Minister to join me in thanking the sponsors, particularly Alton Towers who hosted the event and all the people of North Staffordshire who have made our Ukrainian friends so welcome.

The Prime Minister agreed that it is a wonderful way to show our support for the families who have come here and said that President Zelenskyy had mentioned how grateful he is that we have opened our hearts and homes to help people from his country.

President Zelenskyy’s visit is a testament to his country’s courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries. We are committed to standing with Ukraine and our commitment is to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come.