Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Little Alika may now be let into UK after U-turn by the Tories
Hope for Ukrainian girl, four, denied visa
A LITTLE girl who was denied a UK visa and sent back to war-torn Ukraine could now be given a safe haven after a Government U-turn.
Alika Zubets, four, had travelled to Poland with her grandmother Tanya, 58, who had been granted entry to Britain.
But under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, Alika was classed as an unaccompanied minor because she was not with either of her parents.
She was returned to her home in Kharkiv, which the Russian invaders are shelling.
But after the Mirror’s story last week about Alika, the Government announced yesterday it has changed the visa rules and will begin processing applications from unaccompanied children.
Lord Harrington, Minister for
Refugees, said: “We have seen the demand for allowing children to travel on the Homes for Ukraine scheme with parental consent.
“We have seen many applications where families want their children to travel to safety in the UK but where parents cannot travel with them.
“We understand families are having to make difficult decisions to separate from their children where it is in their best interest, which is why we have extended the Homes for Ukraine scheme to allow this.
“It is important we took the time to get this right – we have worked across Government and with the Ukrainian government to find a
solution to ensure we can continue offering safety to as many Ukrainians as possible while also welcoming more children into the UK.”
Alika’s parents have to stay in Kharkiv, 25 miles from the Russian border, as her father Dima is unable to leave the country and mother Arena is the sole carer for her own disabled mother.
But they had given written consent for their daughter to leave with her grandmother in March.
Tanya finally arrived in the UK last Friday and is staying with Dr Maggie Babb, 53, from Audley, Staffs, who had sponsored her and her granddaughter.
Dr Babb, a paediatric anaesthetist at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, said: “Of course I’m delighted they [the Government] have finally seen sense but it has taken far too long.
“This issue should not have been there in the first place and it was brought to the Government’s attention in April.
“But it seems that they only really respond to pressure from the media or judicial reviews.”
Tanya is hoping to return to Ukraine in the near future and bring Alika with her to the UK, where they already have an extended family.
Under the new rules, children who have already applied for a Homes for Ukraine scheme visa will be allowed to travel to the UK without a parent or legal guardian, subject to sponsor checks.
They have finally seen sense but it has taken far too long DR MAGGIE BABB IN SWIPE AT GOVERNMENT