Prince moved to tears by refugees as Patel U-turns
THE Prince of Wales was moved to tears yesterday by the Ukrainian refugee crisis as Priti Patel prepared an about-turn to allow up to 20,000 more Ukrainians in the UK to bring in loved ones and remain for three years.
Amid growing fury at the Government’s mishandling of the exodus, Boris Johnson approved the deployment of 100 soldiers to Poland to help speed up processing applications after reports of refugees stuck in queues in sub-zero temperatures.
In a rare show of emotion, the prince spoke about the conflict as he attended a midweek shelter for refugees in London where he met two Ukrainians who had escaped to the UK from the advancing Russian forces.
He told the pair the crisis was “crazy” and the situation “painful” as he joined a community café, visited programmes for women and children, and participated in an employability scheme for refugees and asylum seekers at Holy Trinity Brompton in Knightsbridge.
Andriy Kopylash, 55, a pastor, and his daughter Veronika, 23, who fled Kyiv on the last flight out as war broke out, said: “There were tears in his eyes. I was really impressed by him. He was really open and was really informed about the situation. He said he had begun plans to do more to help refugees. He said the situation was terrible and described it as crazy and madness.”
Veronika said: “He said they are praying and thinking about us. He said, ‘It is very painful’, and he said it was really nice to hear that people care about Ukraine, not just in their words but in their actions.”
Refugees fleeing their war-torn homeland could help fix Britain’s “enormous skills shortage” and should be “welcomed”, the Prince said earlier.
It came as the Home Secretary prepared to expand the Government’s refugee scheme to allow all Ukrainians to bring immediate or extended family members to the UK.
At present, the Government’s family scheme is restricted only to those with permanent residence in the UK, either as citizens or with settled status, thought to number around 40,000.
Only 760 visas have been granted despite the Home Office receiving 22,000 applications so far. Thousands of refugees have struggled to book appointments at British visa centres across Europe, with hundreds in Calais unable to cross the Channel.
Ms Patel is now proposing to extend eligibility to all those on work, study or visitor visas, which will cover as many as 20,000 Ukrainians, according to Home Office data.
“Any Ukrainian on any leave in the UK can have their stay extended to 36 months – with the ability to bring their family members over through the family scheme. This brings them into line with family scheme already operating,” said a source.
The Home Office is also considering waiving biometric checks for any Ukrainian and their immediate family who have visited the UK in the past five years on a Ukrainian passport. It means they can bypass in-person checks at visa application centres that have caused the biggest delays.
Michael Gove, the Levelling-up Secretary, will tomorrow announce the launch of a hotline where anyone in Britain will be able to offer a room to a Ukrainian refugee under a humanitarian sponsorship scheme.
The individuals, companies, organisations and charities will be vetted and matched with prospective refugees who will be able to claim benefits and work in the UK for an initial 12 months. “It is a humanitarian call for action. The majority will be doing it out of philanthropic motives,” said a source.
Yesterday the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK urged Britain to lift all visa requirements as he revealed that even his wife had previously suffered “bureaucratic hassles” entering the UK.
Appearing before the home affairs committee, Vadym Prystaiko said that at the very least the Home Office should stop security checks on children as they were “definitely not terrorists”.