Britain to allow more than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK

Britain is to allow more than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK, Boris Johnson has announced, as he extended the Government’s humanitarian route.

Speaking on a trip to Poland, the Prime Minister doubled the number of the refugees that the UK will take from the 100,000 announced less than 24 hours earlier by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary.

It is understood the Home Office will extend the range of Ukrainian family members who will be able to join relatives in the UK as they flee the Russian invasion of their homeland.

It is currently limited to immediate family comprising spouse, civil partner, long-term partners, parents of children under 18 and children under 18.

The new programme is expected to widen to include extended family including older parents, siblings and grandparents.

It is thought the Government is also considering a Ukraine sponsorship visa scheme where businesses, community groups, local authorities can sponsor a Ukrainian to come to the UK to work for 12 months. Sponsor would have to pay for and organise accommodation and integration

Mr Johnson said: ““Many people in Britain will want to help UK refugees so we will make it easier for Ukrainians already living in the UK to bring their relatives to our country.

“Although the numbers are hard to calculate, they could be more than 200,000 and if the worst happens and President Z and Government is no longer able to function, we must prepare to support them.

"Whatever happens in the weeks ahead, we should recognise this crisis will impose costs on ourselves and on our electorates. The sanctions have consequences for him as well as us. No step is free from risk.”

Mass exodus

The Prime Minister also announced the Government would provide up to £220 million of emergency and humanitarian aid as it was estimated 600,000 have already fled Russia’s invasion.

He said 1,000 troops were also on standby to help the humanitarian response in Poland and neighbouring countries.

More than 100,000 people a day are expected to flee to Poland from Ukraine, the Polish prime minister warned yesterday (mon), as Europe faces its biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

The Government has been under pressure from senior Tory MPs urging her to go further and refugee charities contrasting the UK’s “heartless and mean-spirited” offer with the EU’s plan to allow Ukrainians to stay for up to three years without any formal asylum process.

Eight former Cabinet ministers including Sir Robert Buckland, Jeremy Hunt, Damian Green and Matt Hancock were among the MPs to put their names to the letter calling for a "flexible and pragmatic approach" to allow Ukrainians to seek temporary refuge in the UK.

The 38 Tory MPs said: "It is clear that this is not another migration crisis; this is a crisis of war. This should not be business as usual, we need sincere and immediate support for the Ukrainian people.

"The United Kingdom cannot flag or fail, our message must be clear: Ukrainian victims of war seeking refuge are welcome."