Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid grilled MP James Cleverly about the excessive amount of “red tape” for Ukrainian refugees fleeing their war-torn country.
The minister for Europe and North America appeared on Tuesday’s instalment of the ITV show after Rob Rinder called in from the Polish border to call on the UK government to make the processes easier and have more administrative help on the ground.
As the ITV programme moved to the interview with James Cleverly, host Susanna fumed: “No British desk at that station. The nearest office is two hours away or you can go to Kraków and fill in a form.
“There’s too much red tape. Why aren’t we cutting it?”
The minister replied insisting the government has made the process “as quick and easy as possible” at every stage.
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The government has launched its Homes for Ukraine site for those wanting to host a refugee, with 43,800 signing up in the first five hours.
Cleverly continued: “We’ve opened a scheme where British people can host refugees in their own homes and we have waived the normal immigration system whereby people can come to the UK. We’re making it quicker. We’re making it easier.”
But host Susanna was not convinced and replied: “I’m sorry to pick you up on it, but it would not be true to say that at every stage we have made this as quick and easy as possible.
“We’ve had pretty obstructive visa requirements for these people and there’s been enormous criticism of the Home Office.
“It wasn’t even the Home Secretary who announced the housing policy yesterday. It hasn’t been quick and easy. Our European neighbours have basically cut the red tape altogether.”
Cleverly replied: “The countries bordering the Ukraine have had a massive influx of people through their borders - absolutely right they facilitate the movement of people out of Ukraine.
“There are now people moving across Europe and we want to make sure we’re here to host them and provide them with accommodation, emotional support because of the trauma they’ve been through. The scheme we’ve put forward is designed to do that.”
Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the UK had a history of “supporting the most vulnerable during their darkest hours”.
He said there would be no limit to how many Ukrainians could enter the UK under the visa sponsorship scheme, with each household housing a refugee offered £350 a month, tax-free.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
