GOVE: SEIZE OLIGARCH MANSIONS TO HOUSE REFUGEES

As No10 pledges £350 a month for those who take in families f leeing war, Minister has an even bolder plan...

RUSSIAN oligarchs’ multi-millionpound mansions would be seized and used to house Ukrainian refugees under an extraordinary plan being championed by Michael Gove.

The Levelling Up Secretary has argued passionately in Cabinet that the move would be ‘payback’ for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cronies in Britain. His plan is being blocked by senior figures in the Treasury and the Foreign Office who believe it is ‘not legally workable’, but one supporter of the Gove scheme last night angrily described opponents within Government as ‘oligarch apologists’.

The row came as No10 announced that ordinary families who house

Ukrainian refugees will be paid £350 a month under a new ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme.

It’s hoped that tens of thousands of people will be accommodated under the scheme, helping to tackle Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. More than 2.3 million people have fled the war in Ukraine and another 1.9million are displaced within the country, a United Nations official has said.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to Mr Gove offering to settle 3,000 Ukrainian refugees north of the Border, ‘in the initial wave’. In a joint letter with Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, she said this would be in line with the numbers that were resettled under the Syrian scheme.

The plans come after the Home Office was criticised for its ‘chaotic’ response to the humanitarian disaster.

In contrast, the British people have acted quickly and generously to help. The recordbreaking Mail Force Ukraine Appeal has reached a remarkable £6.6 million alone.

In another grim day in Ukraine yesterday:

Kyiv became a fortress ahead of an expected onslaught, with Russian forces now within 15 miles of the capital’s centre;

Russian shelling of besieged cities including Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Sumy continued as one governor said the South-Eastern city of Volnovakha has been destroyed;

Moscow threatened the West that any military shipments to Ukraine will be seen as ‘legitimate targets’, prompting fears the conflict could dramatically escalate;

Putin rebuffed a new appeal for a ceasefire but, in a glimmer of hope, negotiators discussed ‘concrete’ proposals for a peace deal for first time as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to negotiate, but would not surrender nor accept ultimatums;

Zelensky said 79 children had been killed in Ukraine during the war and 1,300 Ukrainian troops, but claimed the Russian army has suffered its largest losses in decades, with an estimated 6,000 deaths;

Putin was urged to lift the siege of the southern city of Mariupol where more than 1,500 civilians have died;

Intelligence sources claimed Putin may be suffering from dementia, Parkinson’s disease or ‘roid rage’ resulting from steroid treatment for cancer.

Mr Gove, who first raised the prospect of seizing oligarchs’ homes in Cabinet a fortnight ago, ran into opposition last week at the first meeting of a sub-committee looking into the UK’s refugee response. At the meeting, Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly and Treasury Minister John Glen expressed their departments’ reservations about the idea.

Last night, a backer of Mr Gove’s plan said: ‘The opposition is being led by oligarch apologists who hide behind the rule of law.’ But one of Mr Gove’s opponents said the plan is ‘not legally workable’ and condemned it as ‘gesture politics more suited to a banana republic’.

Under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme, sponsors who provide accommodation rent-free for a minimum of six months will receive a ‘thank you’ of £350 per month, however many refugees they take. Sponsored refugees will be granted three years’ leave to remain in the UK and be allowed to work.

Mr Gove said: ‘The crisis in Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the world. The UK stands behind Ukraine in their darkest hour and the British public understand the need to get as many people to safety as quickly as we can. I urge people across the country to join the national effort and offer support to our Ukrainian friends.’

A website will launch tomorrow to allow sponsors to register offers of accommodation. Those applying will be vetted and Ukrainians will undergo security checks. However, as The Mail on Sunday reports today, security chiefs have expressed concern at watering down visa requirements.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has been criticised over the slow rate of approval of visas for Ukrainian refugees, prompting Boris Johnson to demand an end to ‘hostile leaks’ from within her department.

But many organisations are already stepping up, such as London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, which is set to receive ten children with cancer who were evacuated from Ukraine in an incredible rescue mission.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Football Club was thrown a lifeline by the Government yesterday as officials agreed it could be sold by its sanctioned owner Roman Ambramovich.

And amid calls for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to cut fuel duty as the price of oil spirals because of the sanctions, Mr Johnson is set to travel to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to negotiate increased supplies.