ONE hundred guests attended a charity lunch in aid of Yorkshire Cancer Research at the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner.

The lunch, which was organised by the Richmond branch of the charity led by Nancy Stephens, was addressed by guest speaker Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond and raised £2,143.

Mr Sunak spoke about his early months as the MP for the area and how he felt privileged to represent a community which worked so hard for the greater good. The work of the Richmond branch was a great example of that community service, he said.

Mr Sunak also praised the work of Yorkshire Cancer Research in tackling the high incidence of the disease in the county and raising millions of pounds to fund research.

Charles Rowett, chief executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research, proposed the vote of thanks for Mr Sunak’s contribution and praised the work of the Richmond branch which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016. During its 49-year existence the branch had raised £341,000.

Mr Rowett also outlined the charity’s aim to create a ‘cancer taskforce’ for Yorkshire. The charity has committed to ‘close the gap’ between cancer outcomes in Yorkshire and the rest of England by providing £100m of funding over the next ten years.

Top table guests included the Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Clive World.