By UK to accept more than 200,000 Ukranian refugees
The UK could take in 200,000 or more Ukrainian refugees as the government extends its scheme to help those fleeing the current invasion from Russian forces.
The prime minister also said businesses and UK citizens would be able to sponsor a Ukrainian to come to the UK.
The Home Office is expected to outline more details later today.
Labour recently criticised that the UK is not doing enough to let in refugees and must follow the EU in helping Ukrainians forced to leave.
Around seven million people are thought to have been displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United Nations reports that more than 500,000 people have fled the country.
EU members have agreed to let in Ukrainian refugees for up to three years without first having to seek asylum as more than 280,000 refugees have entered Poland.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told Parliament on Monday that changes to visa rules would allow “any person settled in the UK” to bring over their immediate Ukrainian family members.
While on a visit to Poland to meet with eastern European leaders, Mr Johnson announced the new rules: “We are extending the family scheme so that very considerable numbers would be eligible… You could be talking about a couple of hundred thousand, maybe more.
“Additionally, we are going to have a humanitarian scheme and then a scheme by which UK companies and citizens can sponsor individual Ukrainians to come to the UK.”
Mr Johnson also said the UK would provide £220m in emergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper criticised the Home Office on BBC4’s Today programme, stating that they were just “tweaking” their previous plan: “At the moment, what the Home Office is doing is trying to just tweak the existing system.
“They’re trying to carry on with a version of business as usual, with a version of asking people to apply for traditional work visas or traditional visitor visas or traditional family visas that are still narrowly drawn.”
(Image: British Red Cross / Twitter)
