The devasting war is in our thoughts

The heart-breaking and devasting war in Ukraine continues to dominate all our thoughts, the news and what we’re focusing on in Westminster. We’re proactively looking at everything we’re doing to support Ukraine and its people, as well as considering further options. I’m proud we have led vital international efforts to undermine and target the Kremlin regime for its illegal invasion, as well as provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in their time of need.

The situation is developing quickly and we’ve expanded the Ukrainian Family Scheme, which will enable British nationals and Ukrainians already settled in the UK to also bring parents, grandparents, adult offspring and siblings. We’ve also established a humanitarian sponsorship pathway and are speeding up the visa application system for Ukrainian refugees, to process the 17,700 applications made so far. I want to thank constituents for all their insights and care on this issue.

Pleasingly, the Economic Crime Bill was successfully voted through the House of Commons on Monday and is expected to become law shortly. This will mean we can harden and speed up sanctions stopping those who it applies to, from laundering money and hiding their illegally-attained wealth - another strong signal and big step against the Kremlin. I’ll continue to support all efforts to work with allies to target

Putin and his cronies, after the PM hosted the Canadian and Dutch Prime Ministers on Monday.

Guidance on the support available to Ukrainian nationals and their family members can be found here at www. gov.uk/guidance/support-for-familymembers-of-british-nationals-inukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-inukraine-and-the-uk

You can give directly to those in need via the DEC and it was great to be at the regular, monthly Savannah Quiz night last Sunday in Haywards Heath, raising almost £200 for the charity, to be donated via Oxfam to make sure supplies are delivered to those who need it in Ukraine.

Last Friday was also another busy day, including a special tree planting as part of the National Trust’s Blossom Watch campaign, which has donated a blossom tree to every constituency, with ours being planted in East Grinstead in the Jubilee Flower bed.

It was then off to visit Year 5 at Halsford Park Primary School in East Grinstead, where I had a fantastic time talking to pupils about life as an MP and the environment. As always, the pupils asked brilliant questions and it was great to see some of their work, which they are rightly proud of. I

then headed off to Collyer’s in Horsham, which was my sixth-form college, for another grilling by politics students, with several hailing from

Mid Sussex, and it was great to see my former form tutor still hard at work inspiring his pupils onto the next stage of their education.