You said you'll help me, and within three days you've stolen it.
In the borderlands of Wales, a retired policeman's quiet act of humanitarian goodwill — seeking unused ventilators for a war-torn Ukraine — became entangled with the ambitions of a sitting MP, who within days redirected the same idea toward Cuba. The episode raises an old and uncomfortable question about the nature of trust between citizen and representative, and whether the machinery of parliamentary influence can coexist with the simpler moral obligations of a handshake. Now the ventilators sit idle, two nations wait, and a formal complaint asks an institution to weigh the ethics of an idea's ownership.
- A volunteer's months of careful groundwork was potentially undone in seventy-two hours when the MP he confided in submitted a nearly identical request for the same equipment — redirected to a different country entirely.
- The near-verbatim language in both letters has placed the health board in an impossible position, forced to adjudicate between Ukraine and Cuba without any clear governance framework for competing humanitarian claims.
- Eccleshall's formal complaint to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has transformed a local donation dispute into a question of parliamentary conduct, raising the stakes far beyond 40 ventilators in a shipping container.
- The health board, treating the ventilators as assets on its books, must now seek Welsh government approval before any donation can proceed — a bureaucratic layer that may ultimately deny both recipients.
- With Witherden silent and the complaint lodged, the story has stalled in institutional limbo, where the urgency of humanitarian need collides with the slow deliberation of governance review.
Steve Eccleshall, a retired policeman volunteering with Driving Ukraine, had identified something useful: 40 ventilators sitting unused in a Wrexham Maelor Hospital shipping container, incompatible with local systems and left over from the pandemic. On February 6th, he met with Labour MP Steve Witherden and a Welsh Parliament member near the Welsh border, laying out his case for sending the equipment to Ukraine. Witherden shook his hand and promised to help.
Three days later, Eccleshall discovered that Witherden had written his own letter to the health board — requesting the same 40 ventilators, in the same container, citing the same Welsh government origin, but asking that they be sent to Cuba instead. Witherden had written in his role as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, invoking the humanitarian toll of the US blockade and a personal visit to the country the previous October. An NHS source passed Eccleshall a copy of the letter, and the similarities in language were difficult to dismiss.
Eccleshall filed a formal complaint with the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, calling it plagiarism and a theft of trust. "You are my MP, I've come to you with an idea," he told BBC Wales. "Within three days you've stolen it." He acknowledged that a disclosed competing interest would have stung but been understandable — what he could not accept was the silence and the speed.
The health board confirmed it had received both proposals and is now assessing the financial and governance implications, noting the ventilators remain valued assets. Any donation requires Welsh government approval, which has not yet been formally requested. Witherden has not commented. The ventilators remain in their container, the complaint sits with the Commissioner, and both Ukraine and Cuba are left waiting while institutions deliberate.
Steve Eccleshall, a retired policeman working as a volunteer with Driving Ukraine, had a straightforward goal: secure 40 unused ventilators from Wrexham Maelor Hospital and send them to Ukraine, where the charity delivers vehicles and medical equipment. On February 6th, he met with Steve Witherden, the Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, along with then-Welsh Parliament member Russell George, near the Welsh border in Powys. Eccleshall presented his request in person, explaining that the ventilators had been supplied during the Covid pandemic but were incompatible with the hospital's systems and had never been used. Witherden shook his hand, congratulated him on the work, and said he would see what he could do.
Three days later, on February 9th, Eccleshall learned that Witherden had submitted his own letter to the health board. But this one asked that the same 40 ventilators be donated to Cuba instead. An NHS source provided Eccleshall with a copy of the MP's request, and when he read it, he found the language strikingly familiar. Both letters made nearly identical points: they mentioned the 40 ventilators in a shipping container, noted their incompatibility with hospital systems, and referenced that they had been supplied by the Welsh government at the start of the pandemic. Witherden had written in his capacity as chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, citing the humanitarian crisis created by the US blockade and his own visit to the country the previous October.
Eccleshall felt betrayed. He filed a complaint with the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, accusing Witherden of plagiarism and what he called theft of his idea. "There's a trust aspect," Eccleshall told BBC Wales. "You are my MP, I've come to you with an idea. You said you'll help me, and within three days you've stolen it." He acknowledged that even if Witherden had disclosed a competing interest immediately, he would have been disappointed but understood. Instead, the MP had taken the entire concept without explanation. In his formal complaint, Eccleshall argued that Witherden's duplicity had put Betsi Cadwaladr health board in an impossible position and meant that both Ukraine and Cuba would lose out.
Witherden has not responded to requests for comment. The health board, caught between two competing requests, confirmed it had received donations proposals for both Ukraine and Cuba. In a statement, it said it was assessing the financial and governance implications, noting that the ventilators are currently valued as assets on its books. The board also confirmed that some ophthalmic equipment mentioned in the requests is being considered for clinical use. Any donation would require approval from the Welsh government, which confirmed that no formal request had yet been received from the health board.
The situation leaves the 40 ventilators in limbo. Eccleshall's complaint now sits with the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, and the health board faces a governance review that could determine whether the equipment goes to Ukraine, Cuba, or neither. The competing requests have created exactly the kind of administrative tangle that neither charity nor nation can easily resolve.
Citas Notables
There's a trust aspect—you are my MP, I've come to you with an idea. You said you'll help me, and within three days you've stolen it.— Steve Eccleshall, retired policeman and Ukraine volunteer
The people of Ukraine and Cuba both lose out because of Witherden's duplicity and dishonesty.— Steve Eccleshall, in his complaint to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would an MP redirect a donation request meant for Ukraine toward Cuba instead?
Witherden chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba and is involved in solidarity work with the country. He visited Cuba in October and apparently saw the medical need firsthand. But the timing and the near-identical language in his letter suggest he may have borrowed Eccleshall's framework without acknowledgment.
Did Eccleshall have any recourse before filing the complaint?
Not really. He trusted Witherden as his MP, presented the idea in person, and was told the MP would help. Three days later, he found out through an NHS source that Witherden had pivoted the entire request. By then, the letter was already with the health board.
What does the health board actually do now?
They're stuck. They have two competing requests for the same equipment, both citing legitimate humanitarian need. They can't donate without Welsh government approval, and they have to assess the governance and financial implications of either choice. It's a bureaucratic knot.
Could both causes get equipment?
Unlikely. There are 40 ventilators total, and they're incompatible with the hospital's systems anyway. The health board has to choose, or choose neither. Either way, someone loses.
What happens to Witherden if the complaint is upheld?
That depends on the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. The complaint alleges plagiarism and misuse of his position. But Witherden hasn't even responded yet, so we don't know his side of the story.