MP Andrew Bingham

Conservative MP Andrew Bingham has stepped up to head a parliamentary organisation which deals with mountain rescue.

The member for High Peak agreed to chair the all-party parliamentary group on mountain rescue teams after its former chair Rory Stewart stood down.

The group, which promotes the UK’s rescue teams at Westminster, was in danger of folding as rules state each such group must have a chairman.

Mr Bingham said he is a big supporter of mountain rescue teams and the work they do, raising matters on the subject in Parliament. Earlier this year, he said, he persuaded the Chancellor to support mountain rescue personnel and their dependants who are injured, suffering ill-health, or bereaved, as a result of active service.

He said: “Mountain rescue teams do such good work for the public in areas like the High Peak, and I couldn’t stand by and watch the APPG fold through lack of a chairman, so I decided to put myself forward for the role, and I’m delighted to have been accepted.

“The APPG is crucial for pushing forward the interests of mountain rescue teams across the country, and I hope that I will be able to continue the excellent work of my colleague Rory Stewart, who I am taking over from.”