Tory MP describes 'extraordinary scenes' after travelling 80 miles into Ukraine amid Russian invasion

A Tory MP has travelled 80 miles into Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, despite government advice recommending Brits stay away from the country.

Adam Holloway, a former soldier and MP for Gravesham, Kent, appeared in television interviews after crossing into the country from south-east Poland.

Speaking to GB News, he described “extraordinary scenes” of refugees queueing at the border to flee Ukraine.

But Holloway, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, appears to have gone against the government’s own guidance with the Foreign Office advising against all travel to Ukraine.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said he was unaware of Holloway’s trip to Ukraine but “our advice applies to everyone”.

Asked if Holloway should come home, the spokesman said: “He should certainly not travel to Ukraine.”

Watch: Ukraine says Russia used cluster, vacuum bombs

Holloway told GB News he started his day by going to McDonald’s near the border which was “packed with women and children and a few elderly people”.

He continued: “We then went up the road a couple of miles and I crossed over into Ukraine and then really quite extraordinary scenes of thousands of women and children queuing at the border, men separated, foreign men separated, some of them have been living in these corralled areas in the border posts for four days and nights in the cold.

Holloway then drove east into Ukraine and described seeing “the mother of all traffic jams”, adding: “It went on for about 20 miles, I mean thousands and thousands and thousands of cars.”

Read more: Boris Johnson confronted by distraught Ukrainian woman - 'We have nowhere to run'

He described volunteers in a children’s nursery packing up donated medical supplies into medical kits for soldiers before he headed to a military conscription site.

Holloway, who has previously worked as an investigative reporter for ITN and ITV, said: “We went round the corner and there was a place where people volunteer to sign up for the military, and we ran into Ukraine’s top concert pianist Igor Grubin.

“It was fascinating talking to him, because so many people are volunteering for the military that they’re only taking people with actual military experience, there just aren’t enough guns."

Read more: Defence secretary Ben Wallace contradicts Liz Truss and urges Britons not to fight in Ukraine

On Tuesday, Boris Johnson contradicted foreign secretary Liz Truss to insist the government is not actively supporting British volunteers who want to join the fight against Russia in Ukraine.

He said: “I’m going to be very clear about this because you’re not quite right in what you say about supporting volunteers going to fight, the UK is not actively doing such a thing."

Defence secretary Ben Wallace also told Brits not to travel to Ukraine, adding: “Unless you are properly trained, unless you are an experienced member of the armed forces, there are better ways for you to contribute to the security of Ukraine.”

Truss said over the weekend she would “absolutely” support British nationals who chose to join the fight, with a number of Britons keen to fight against Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The prime minister added no NATO countries are contemplating becoming actively involved in repelling Moscow’s invasion, with Ukraine not being a member of the defence alliance.