Related videos:
A Welsh volunteer has formally accused Labour MP Steve Witherden of plagiarizing a letter he personally delivered to request the donation of 40 unused ventilators to Ukraine, and redirecting that initiative to send the equipment to Cuba, according to BBC Wales.
Steve Eccleshall, a retired police officer and volunteer for the charity Driving Ukraine, met with Witherden on February 6 in Powys, near the Welsh border, and handed him a letter requesting the release of about 40 ventilators stored at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, reports the British media.
The equipment had been supplied by the Welsh government at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but were never used due to compatibility issues with the hospital's systems and remain in a storage container.
According to Eccleshall, Witherden shook his hand, congratulated him for his work in support of Ukraine, and offered to see what he could do.
However, just three days later, on February 9, the deputy sent his own letter to the Betsi Cadwaladr health board requesting that those same respirators be donated to Cuba, not Ukraine.
The letter was signed by Witherden in his capacity as president of the Multi-Party Parliamentary Group on Cuba, and Eccleshall learned of its existence through a source from the National Health Service (NHS) who provided him with a copy.
Both letters, which were accessed by BBC Gales, contain nearly identical passages: they mention that the 40 ventilators are in a shipping container, that they are incompatible with the systems of Wrexham Maelor, and that they were supplied at the beginning of the pandemic by the Welsh government.
"There is an aspect of trust: you are my representative, I presented an idea to you. You said you would help me, and in three days you stole it from me," Eccleshall declared to the BBC Wales.
"Stealing the entire concept and not saying anything seems simply dishonest to me," the volunteer added.
Eccleshall filed a formal complaint with the UK Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, accusing Witherden of "duplicity and dishonesty" and claiming that his request put the health board in an "unenviable position" by receiving two contradictory requests.
"Both the people of Ukraine and those of Cuba are harmed by the duplicity and dishonesty of Witherden," he wrote in the complaint.
Witherden, an active defender of the Cuban regime in the British Parliament, visited the island in October 2025 and stated in his letter that Trump's policy of preventing oil shipments to Cuba had "worsened a humanitarian crisis."
Cuba is experiencing one of its worst energy crises in decades, with power outages lasting up to 30 hours a day, 300 ambulances out of service, and 96,000 surgeries postponed. This situation has been worsened by the Executive Order signed by Donald Trump in January that designated Cuba as an "extraordinary threat" and imposed tariffs on countries that supply it with oil.
Trump partially relaxed these measures in the following months, although the crisis on the island continues.
The Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board confirmed that it has "received requests for the medical equipment in question to be considered for donation to Ukraine and Cuba" and that it is assessing the financial and governance implications, as the ventilators are valued as assets of the institution.
The Welsh government, for its part, confirmed that formal approval would be needed to donate the goods and that it has not yet received any request from the health board.
Witherden has not responded to the BBC Wales requests for comments, and the case is now in the hands of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who will determine whether the conduct of the MP violates the Code of Conduct of the British Parliament.
Filed under: