For weeks the MP for Newcastle North has been whisking up a storm. For Catherine McKinnell MP, the pressure is on as she fine-tunes her pancake-flipping moves with the MPs’ team hoping to make it two-in-a-row in this year’s Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race in Westminster.

The annual clash between MPs, Lords and media, takes place on Shrove Tuesday, 28th February, in Victoria Tower Gardens, in the shadow of the Houses of Parliament. A relay race, the event is over in minutes and this year celebrates 20 years of flipping pancake madness in aid of disability charity, Rehab Group.

Rehab Group provides life-changing services in the areas of vocational rehabilitation and social care support, particularly for those living with an acquired brain injury.

It was the MPs’ team that whipped across the finish line first in 2016, while the media team last raised the Parliamentary Pancake Race Magnificent Tin Cup in 2015, with the Lords’ team scooping the trophy in 2014.

As a member of the MPs’ team, Catherine McKinnell MP is very much looking forward to this year’s eggs-travaganza, and to maintaining MPs’ winning ways:

‘The Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race is a unique and fun event, raising awareness of the incredibly important work undertaken by this charity – including at their brain injury centre in Newcastle.

‘For some participants, it’s the opportunity to leave the Lords with egg on their faces. For others, it offers a rare chance to get an inside scoop on the media. Of course, for onlookers, it’s an ideal occasion to poke fun at politicians as we demonstrate why we should stick to politics. But, for me, it’s about supporting a great cause and highlighting the needs of those affected by brain injury.

‘This year, while the MPs’ team is hoping to make it two-in-a-row, I am hoping that the real winner will be the work of the Rehab disability charity.’

The 2017 Official Starter is BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty, who will be keeping a close eye on proceedings to ensure all is fair and square:

‘Being Official Starter of the Rehab Parliamentary Pancake Race, I am only too aware of the serious responsibility which rests on my shoulders. I would like to put the teams on notice that I will defend, without fear or favour, the honour and integrity of the race.

‘So when the rules state that frying pans must not be used as weapons, I will be vigilant for any such displays of excitability. When the rules state that pancakes must be flipped to a minimum height of three feet, I will be there with my measuring tape for each and every flip. When the rules state that pancakes must be tossed on a continuous basis throughout the race, I will be alert to those who flip at the start, and then run never to flip again!

‘Of course, I am also delighted to support the work of Rehab with disabled people, particularly those with an acquired brain injury, in getting their lives back on track. That is the real race in which I hope everyone is a winner.’

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