Priti Patel faces calls to resign over handling of Ukraine refugee crisis

UK home secretary Priti Patel faced a barrage of criticism and a call to resign from her own party on Tuesday as disquiet grows among Tory MPs over the government’s refusal to loosen restrictions on Ukrainian refugees.

Alec Shelbrooke, MP for Elmet and Rothwell, called the government’s response to the crisis a “disgrace”, while Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet, said: “It’s time that the home office granted a visa waiver and allowed children and all those adults with Ukrainian passports to come into the country now.”

The criticism is a sign of growing unease within the Conservative party about the government’s stance on Ukrainian refugees, who must make an appointment at a visa application centre and upload a series of official documents to gain entry to the UK.

Britain has been widely criticised for its response to the crisis. EU member states have waived all visa requirements for Ukrainians and granted them automatic leave to remain for up to three years.

Kevin Foster, immigration minister, on Tuesday ruled out any relaxation of Britain’s restrictions, telling MPs that the procedures were needed to protect national security, referring to the attempt by Russian agents to kill a former Russian spy in the town of Salisbury in 2017.

Foster said that a new visa application centre would be set up in Lille, northern France, within 24 hours, and told MPs that the UK had granted 500 visas under its family reunification scheme.

On Monday, Patel told the Commons that Britain had set up a visa processing centre for Ukrainians in the French port of Calais, but later had to correct her statement.

“There’s no visa centre at Calais yet,” said Gale. “Under any normal administration, that in itself would be a resignation issue.”

Fedir Kurlak, chief executive of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, a community group, criticised the UK restrictions. “There are criteria that have to be met and in real terms that’s not practical for what we’re seeing happening in Ukraine and at the borders, the people flooding out across the Ukrainian border,” he said.

Foster said the government had taken “decisive action” and would move quickly to allow individuals, charities and businesses to sponsor Ukrainian refugees. “We will welcome literally thousands of people here, in probably the biggest move of refugees in a generation,” Foster said.

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, pointed out that 600 Ukrainians had been turned away at Calais since the refugee crisis began and criticised the slow processing of visas, the shortage of appointments at visa centres and the lack of clarity about who was able to apply.

“The government should not be continuing to change this in a chaotic way, rather than opening the system up properly,” she said.

Downing Street on Tuesday appointed former MP Richard Harrington as minister for refugees. Harrington, who will be made a peer, will replace Victoria Atkins, who was made minister for Afghan resettlement in September.