Britain must heed the lessons of history and let in Ukrainian refugees
sir – We are professional historians, many of whom have spent their careers studying the wars and refugee crises of the 20th century.
We call on the Government immediately to relax the rules of entry for Ukrainian refugees fleeing from an unlawful war of aggression. The current delays are unacceptable, and put the Government far behind the generous schemes already operating across Europe.
We are reminded of the poor response of the British government in the 1930s to the plight of the Jews of central Europe, thousands of whom later perished in the Holocaust. Then British officials restricted entry to those who could be funded from private British sources or who would be useful for the British economy.
If today’s Government indeed has “huge compassion”, as the Defence Secretary suggests, it is time to demonstrate it on a large scale. These are not illegal immigrants, spies or terrorists, but frightened and disorientated women, children and the elderly who hope for better from a country whose values and material advantages ought to make it an obvious refuge. We earnestly hope that the Government will learn the lessons from history, and open Britain’s doors to those desperately seeking a place of safety.
Professor Richard Overy
University of Exeter
Professor Patricia Clavin
University of Oxford
Professor Nick Stargardt
University of Oxford
Professor Peter Gatrell
University of Manchester
Sir Antony Beevor Professor Sir Richard Evans
University of Cambridge
Jessie Childs
Professor Saul David
and 120 others; see telegraph.co.uk
sir – I’m sure others have been watching with despair as our Home Offices botches – in view of the world – the handling of Ukrainian refugees attempting to find sanctuary in Britain.
Hard on the heels of the Foreign Office debacle in Afghanistan, and serial failures by Public Health England, it follows a grimly predictable pattern. The lesson: our sprawling bureaucracies badly need an upgrade.
Of course no malice is intended, but incompetence carries its own burden.
Alisdair Low
Richmond, Surrey
sir – My father, like Malcolm Bailey’s (Letters, March 9), was killed during the Second World War – in January
1942, while serving in the RAF.
However, unlike Mr Bailey, I do not feel shame at the current situation. I am angry that our great country, which rescued a third of a million troops from Dunkirk and, with our allies, carried out the Normandy landings four years later, cannot now give speedy shelter to the Ukrainian refugees at our door. William Martindale
Carnforth, Lancashire
sir – It was impressive to see MPS all standing up to clap for President Zelensky. Sadly, this will have done about as much good for Ukrainians as our clapping did for the NHS.
Paul Vlcek
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire