Ukraine war: Boris Johnson defends refugee response after visa criticismon March 7, 2022 at 5:36 pm

Boris Johnson has promised to be “very generous” towards Ukrainian refugees, amid criticism over the number granted visas.

It emerged on Sunday that only 50 have been given visas since the conflict began, prompting calls for the UK to do more for people fleeing danger.

It comes amid confusion over whether access will be widened access beyond the current schemes.

Labour says the situation is a “mess” and clearer rules are urgently needed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has told The Sun she is examining “legal options” to grant humanitarian access to people “without ties to the UK”.

The two UK schemes announced so far require Ukrainians to either have family in the UK, or have a designated UK sponsor for their application.

But the prime minister did not confirm whether a new route would be set up when asked by reporters on Monday.

Mr Johnson said only that the UK would have a “very generous and open approach” to refugees.

His spokesman would also not confirm whether a third route would be established, after Home Office sources said earlier it was being explored.

Mr Johnson did however say that the UK would not “abandon controls altogether” on those wanting to come to the UK, adding it was “sensible” to “have some basic ability to check who is coming in and who isn’t”.

More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia began an invasion last month, according to the United Nations.

Most are in neighbouring countries – with the Polish border agency saying on Monday that more than a million people have now crossed into Poland.

Earlier, Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly said Ukrainian refugees preferred to stay in the region – and the UK was providing humanitarian support to those in neighbouring countries.

The UK has steadily increased its visa offer to refugees – but has faced criticism that its scheme is less generous than the EU’s.

This includes last week’s move to widen the range of family members that allow Ukrainians with relatives in the UK to apply for visas.

The Home Office has also previously announced a second route allowing UK-based organisations to sponsor applications – with details to be set out this week.

The home secretary told The Sun that she was considering a new route for refugees to come to the UK from Ukraine.

The first problem was that her comments weren’t entirely clear.

The second problem is that neither Downing Street nor the Foreign Office knew what she was doing.

Hence why earlier on Monday, Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly denied on television and radio that this was on the cards – instead reiterating the two routes that have already been announced.

The most charitable explanation for this is that Priti Patel was moved by a recent visit to the region, decided something had to be done and done quickly, so announced something before any detailed policy work had been done.

A less generous version is that it’s the fog of war in Whitehall.

On Sunday, the Home Office said “around 50” Ukrainians had so far been granted visas under the scheme for those with family links – about 1% of the 5,535 people who have applied since the programme launched on Friday.

The department added that 11,750 had begun applications online as of 10:00 GMT on Sunday, while 5,535 had completed them and 2,368 had booked a visa appointment to submit their application and biometric information.

Asked about the figures on Monday, Mr Johnson told reporters he couldn’t confirm a number – but thousands of applications were being processed.

Speaking to broadcasters, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the UK government should be offering a “simple route to sanctuary” for people in danger.

“The Home Office is in a complete mess about this, they keep changing the rules,” he added.

“The government now talking about a third route is something that we’ve been talking about now for days.”

Pressed on what applicants should have to have a visa to come to the UK, he said “some sort of emergency protection visa would work well”, but it had to be “absolutely straightforward”.

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote to Ms Patel on Saturday, saying that 400 Ukrainian refugees had arrived at Calais to cross the Channel, but 150 were sent back and told to obtain UK visas at embassies in Paris or Brussels.

Mr Darmanin said the response to people in distress was “completely unsuitable” and showed a “lack of humanity”, calling for the UK to put consular staff at Calais to help Ukrainian refugees cross.

But Ms Patel said it was “wrong to say we are turning people back” and said the Home Office already had people working in Calais to support Ukrainian families.

Updating MPs on Monday, she added that a “bespoke” visa application centre for Ukrainians would be set up near the French port.

Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, said the UK was at the “forefront of the effort” to support Ukraine – but the “maximum” number needed to be admitted.

He added that the visa process could be simplified, adding that any issues could be resolved later.

He said any “bureaucratic nonsense” should be cleared away, although he said it was necessary to continue security checks.