The UK's plan to help Ukrainian refugees was plunged into chaos today as Boris Johnson suggested key numbers were not right.
The Prime Minister said he was "not sure" the claim that 50 family visas had been granted by 10am on Sunday was correct - despite the fact it was briefed to journalists by the Home Office.
His Home Secretary Priti Patel also admitted the figures were "absolutely inaccurate" and promised new figures tonight.
Meanwhile, Downing Street admitted despite Ms Patel's furious denial that refugees were turned away at Calais, they do, in fact, have to visit visa centres in Paris or Brussels - just as the French government had claimed.
Ms Patel today said "we have set up" a visa centre "en route" to Calais - but minutes later changed her claim to say "we are setting it up", suggesting it is not ready yet.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The Home Office website is still telling people to go to Paris. Journalists who are in Calais and looking for any centre that there might be are still unable to find anything.
"All they can find is a few Home Office staff in a building with a crisp machine but no visas.
"One family there this afternoon who have been there for five days have been told they cannot get an appointment in Paris until March 15. What on earth is going on?”
Meanwhile, the PM and No10 slapped down Ms Patel's suggestion that there would be a third, humanitarian route for refugees to come into the UK after at least 1.3million fled in 10 days.
The Home Secretary told the Sun newspaper: "I'm urgently escalating our response to the growing humanitarian crisis. I am now investigating the legal options to create a humanitarian route. This means anyone without ties to the UK fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will have a right to come to this nation."
Yet both Boris Johnson and No10 repeatedly emphasised only two routes have been announced.
Those two routes are a Ukraine Family Scheme for people with family already in the UK to live, work, use the NHS claim benefits for three years; and a Local Sponsorship Scheme for firms, charities or individuals to bring in Ukrainians for an "initial" 12 months.
That second scheme will have no need for family links and no cap on numbers. But it isn't launched yet, no one knows yet how it will work, and details will only be announced later this week.
Boris Johnson today insisted the UK was "surging officials" into Europe to deal with applications, and Downing Street did not totally rule out setting up a third humanitarian route.
But the PM suggested numbers handed out yesterday - that 5,535 online applications had been completed, 2,368 had booked a visa appointment, 11,750 had started but not finished an online application, and 50 visas had been granted - were wrong.
He told reporters: "I'm not sure those numbers are right, but we're processing thousands as I speak to you, and clearly this crisis is evolving the whole time. I've said before that the UK will be as generous as we can possibly be. And I intend to do that."
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is total disgrace. Desperate Ukrainian families are being turned away & let down in their hour of need. Home Office needs to get a grip of this fast.”
The PM's deputy official spokesman was forced to insist he had confidence in the Home Office. He replied: “Yes, we are all focused on supporting those displaced Ukrainians who’ve had to leave their country due to the acts of the Putin regime.”
A full family visa scheme for Ukrainians opened on Friday allowing applications from immediate family; extended family; and immediate family members of extended family.
Immediate family are a spouse or civil partner, unmarried partner in a cohabiting relationship for two or more years, a child under 18, a parent if their child in the UK is under 18, or a fiancee or proposed civil partner.
Extended family include grown-up children or their parents, grandparents, grandchildren or partners’ grandchildren, and brothers and sisters.
Home Office guidance recommends people apply for a visa “in a nearby country” to Ukraine after fleeing over the border - naming Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania.
People are asked to complete an application online, travel to the visa centre to give details like fingerprints, then remain in the area until their application is processed.
But France accused the UK of a "lack of humanity", saying 150 refugees had travelled to Calais but been told they had to apply at the nearest visa centre - in Paris or Brussels.
Furious Priti Patel went on the offensive yesterday, saying the French government was "wrong" and "the British Government is not turning anybody around or turning anybody back at all."
She added: "I have staff in Calais to provide support to Ukrainian families that have left Ukraine to come to the United Kingdom. It is wrong and it is inaccurate to say that we are not providing support on the ground. We are."
Questioned by the Mirror, however, the Home Office repeatedly failed to clarify if there was a visa processing centre in Calais as Ms Patel suggested.
Eventually, No10 today admitted there was not.
The PM's deputy spokesman said: "I don’t believe there’s one there now, but we’ll keep it under review.”
Asked if applicants in Calais needed to travel to Paris or Brussels, he replied: “I believe that’s correct, but there’s help in place… and we’re keeping the situation on the ground in Calais under review.”
After Ms Patel pledged to escalate the situation, Home Office sources told The Sun and the BBC there would be a third route for refugees - over and above the family scheme and sponsorship scheme.
But Boris Johnson said: "We have two very, very generous routes already. The family reunion route, which is uncapped which could potentially see hundreds of of thousands of people come to this country plus the humanitarian route."
Asked if Ms Patel was referring to a third, brand-new scheme, or just the sponsorship route that's waiting to be announced, the PM's deputy spokesman confirmed: "It’s the sponsorship route that we set out last week”.
He added: "We will obviously continue to keep the latest situation under review.
"But we’ve set out the details of the two routes we are putting in place to help those displaced Ukrainians who would like to come to the UK.
"We will set out more details this week around the sponsorship scheme, which will provide a route for Ukrainians without any family ties to the UK.
"There is no limit to that scheme and we’ll welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come and they’ll have match sponsors."
Asked if No10 ruled out going further with a third scheme, the spokesman replied: “We will obviously keep all options under review.”
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “It is shameful that Ukrainians escaping Putin’s terror are being turned away from the UK. It flies in the face of our country’s proud history of providing sanctuary to people fleeing war and persecution.
“Priti Patel has spent her time as Home Secretary closing down safe routes for refugees to come to the UK. For her to say she’s just started ‘investigating’ those routes for Ukrainians is a welcome change of heart, but nowhere near good enough.”
Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive at Freedom from Torture, said: “Despite months of warnings, this cruel government has been caught woefully unprepared for the scale of this humanitarian crisis because they are trapped in an anti-refugee logic that is becoming more unpopular by the day.
“The fact that only 50 visas have been granted to Ukrainian refugees shows the dangers of insisting on visa-based schemes when the whole point of the Refugee Convention is to allow people to run to safety and claim asylum on arrival.”
A Government spokesperson said: “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.”
