A Wirral MP slammed the government for its lacklustre attempts to provide sanctuary for the thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine.
In a parliamentary session yesterday, Mick Whitley, Labour MP for Birkenhead, called on the Home Office to lift visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees as the UK’s humanitarian efforts have been dwarfed by that of other, smaller European countries.
He also said that the government’s recent promise of a major increase to the amounts of Ukrainian refugees allowed into the country was ‘a promise in which we can place very little confidence,’ due to the recent inaction on welcoming refugees fleeing Afghanistan.
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Mr Whitley said: “As countries across Europe have thrown open their doors to the millions of Ukrainians forced from their homes, the UK alone has refused to lift visa requirements. Last week, we learned that while Poland has welcomed more than one million Ukrainians since the conflict began, the Home Office has approved visas for just 300. Ireland, a country with a population that is a fraction of the size of ours, has already accepted more than 5,000 Ukrainians.”
So far, a total of 17,100 visa applications have been submitted to the UK, with just over 10,000 leading to an appointment at a visa application centre. Yet as of yesterday, only 4,000 in total have been issued: 0.4% of the amount of refugees welcomed into Poland.
Mr Whitley said: “The time has come to waive all visa requirements for people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and establish safe and legal routes into Britain. History will not judge kindly a Government that fails the Ukrainian people in their time of greatest need, but sadly, I have little confidence in the Home Office to do the right thing."
"The Government are now promising major improvements in the numbers of people being admitted to the UK and the speed with which applications are being processed. Given the recent and unforgivable betrayal of Afghan nationals who risked their lives to support British forces in Afghanistan, that is a promise in which we can place very little confidence, and it is simply not good enough."
He also targeted the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, saying: “There is surely no politician in recent memory whose career has been defined by such cruelty, indifference to suffering and gross incompetence as this Home Secretary, and I’m afraid that the rot runs deep.”
Kevin Foster, MP for Torbay and an immigration minister working under Patel, also came under fire for having “the audacity to say that refugees could apply for seasonal work visas so that they could come to the UK to pick fruit.”
Mr Whitley added: “In any other Government, such an appalling statement would undoubtedly result in a letter of resignation being handed to the Prime Minister, but this Minister could not even bring himself to apologise—shame, shame, shame.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and the changes we’ve made to the visa process are making it quicker and simpler for Ukrainians to come here, as well as ensuring those already here can stay.
"Valid passport holders no longer have to attend in-person appointments to submit fingerprints or facial verification, and we have also expanded capacity at our Visa Application Centres to 13,000 appointments per week across Europe to help those without their documentation.
"This week, the Government’s sponsorship route will open to allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to come here and we will continue to work closely with our Ukrainian partners to deliver the measures we have put in place."
