A Leeds MP has accused the Government of “learning nothing” from last year’s Afghan refugee crisis, as local councils still await instructions on how to support refugees arriving from Ukraine in the coming weeks and months.
Mystery still surrounds whether councils have been given any guidance at all from Government on what support will be available to help accommodate refugees arriving from Ukraine.
Despite fighting in the country starting nearly two weeks ago, Leeds City Council has not responded to a request asking what instructions it has received from Government, while the Home Office was keen to point out it was a “complex situation”.
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Ukrainian cities are currently being shelled by Russian forces, with some cities in the east and south evacuating, while many more people have left the capital Kyiv. Around 1.5 million people are thought to be currently displaced.
Leeds Northwest MP Alex Sobel said: “We have seen time and again the lack of support from the Home Office for refugees and local authorities expected and willing to support them.
“After the fall of Kabul the Home Office just dumped Afghans in Hotels without telling councils and not even providing basic sanitary supplies like nappies. It seems they have learned nothing since then.”
During the summer of 2021, US and UK troops pulled out of Afghanistan, which was immediately followed by a government takeover by the Taliban – a violent fundamentalist religious group.
This caused thousands of Afghan citizens to flee the country, with many coming to the UK. However, it took several weeks for the Government to provide support for councils to help process and support refugees in their areas.
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Refugees fleeing Ukraine in an attempt to get to the UK were reportedly met this week with a poster in Calais, telling them they had to visit visa centres in Brussels or Paris in order to claim their UK visas, with claims also made that only 50 visas had been distributed.
Mr Sobel's intervention comes after Conservative Leeds MP Alec Shelbrooke called his own government's treatment of Ukrainian refugees 'a disgrace'.
Mr Shelbrooke said the Home Office needed to 'get a grip' on the crisis and start helping people fleeing Ukraine to get to the UK.
A government spokesman said: “Last week we announced a new sponsorship route which will allow Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come to the UK.
“This is alongside our Ukraine Family Scheme, which has already seen thousands of people apply, as well as changes to visas so that people can stay in the UK safely.
“The routes we have put in place follow extensive engagement with Ukrainian partners.
"This is a rapidly moving and complex picture and as the situation develops we will continue to keep our support under constant review.”
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