UK 'making it too difficult' for Ukrainian refugees as just 50 visas are processed

Watch: Minister challenged over UK issuing only 50 Ukrainian refugee visas

Boris Johnson has defended the government’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine after it emerged the UK has only granted 50 visas to refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.

The prime minister claimed the Home Office is currently "processing thousands" of applications from Ukrainian refugees, but Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the situation as a “complete mess”.

The Home Office said on Sunday that “around 50” visas had been granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme, despite a promise last week from prime minister Boris Johnson that the UK may welcome more than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees.

More than one million refugees have already been allowed to pass into neighbouring Poland.

Watch: Poland opens its doors as Ukraine refugee count his one million

Johnson was unable to give an update on the number of visas granted as of Monday.

He said: “Clearly, this crisis is evolving the whole time. I’ve said before that the UK will be as generous as we can possibly be and we intend to do that.

“We have two very, very generous routes already – so the family reunion route, which is uncapped, which could potentially see hundreds of thousands of people come to this country, plus the humanitarian route.

“Under that scheme, people can sponsor people coming from Ukraine.”

Officials were “surging” to the countries bordering Ukraine but also to France, he said.

Read more: Russia 'bombing TV towers' to cut Ukrainians off from internet and vital broadcasts

However, Johnson said the government would not introduce a system whereby Ukrainian refugees can come to the UK “without any checks or any controls at all”.

It was reported on Sunday that home secretary Priti Patel was examining “legal options” to create a “humanitarian route”, which would offer all Ukrainians seeking refuge the right to come to the UK, regardless of whether they have family ties there.

But it was unclear whether this referred to a sponsorship scheme that had already been announced, with Europe minister James Cleverly saying on Monday that there had been no change to the plans over the weekend.

Asked if the government was considering a “third route” to the UK, not based on family members or sponsorship, Johnson said: “What we won’t do, and let me be very clear, what we won’t do is have a system where people can come into the UK without any checks or any controls at all, I don’t think that is the right approach.

“But what we will do is have a system that is very, very generous.

“As the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, people are going to want to see this country open our arms to people fleeing persecution, fleeing a war zone.

“I think people who have spare rooms, who want to receive people coming from Ukraine, will want us to have a system that enables them to do that. And that is already happening.”

Downing Street said a “humanitarian route” for Ukrainian refugees, reportedly being examined by the home secretarym was in fact a sponsorship scheme that had already been announced by the government.

Earlier on Monday, Cleverly said he expected the number of Ukrainians being granted visas for the UK to increase “very, very quickly”.

But Sir Keir said: “It’s very important that we provide a route to sanctuary for those that are fleeing for their lives.

“The Home Office is in a complete mess about this, they keep changing the rules, the stories of what is actually happening on the ground contradict what the Home Office say.

“They have got to sort this out. There should be a simple route to sanctuary for those that are fleeing for their lives.”

The Home Office said 5,535 online applications have been completed and submitted online and 2,368 people had booked a visa appointment to submit their application and biometric information.

It said 11,750 people have started, but not completed, an online application.

But Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told LBC the scheme is “is certainly not a success”.

He added: “What we need to do is to make sure that we get the Home Office absolutely delivering, to make sure that we get the support for those who are most in need.

“This isn’t some sort of, you know, illegal scam. This is, perfectly obviously, people fleeing for their lives and we need to be absolutely there to support them.”

More than 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country after Russia invaded, the United Nations (UN) has said.

Under the UK’s recently-extended visa scheme, Ukrainians with parents, grandparents, children and siblings already in the UK are allowed to stay for up to three years.

The offer does not match that of EU countries, which have waived visa rules for Ukrainian refugees, letting them in for up to three years without first having to seek asylum. More than one million Ukrainians have been allowed to enter Poland.

On Sunday, home secretary Priti Patel said the UK is “doing everything possible” to speed up its visa process.

Patel denied accusations from France that refugees had been turned away from the UK at Calais.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday it was “inhumane” of the UK to turn away refugees arriving at the French port city if they did not have a valid visa.

He claimed hundreds of Ukrainian refugees in Calais have been told by British authorities to obtain a visa at UK consulates in Paris or Brussels, calling it “a bit inhumane” to expect them to travel all the way there after their long journeys from Ukraine.

“The British must put their rhetoric into action, I’ve heard the big words of generosity from Mr Johnson,” Darmanin told Europe 1 radio.

Ukrainian ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said any “bureaucratic nonsense” around visas should be cleared.

Prystaiko said: “We believe that some of the procedures can be really simplified.

“We will sort it out later, now we have to let as maximum people we can have as possible.”

Watch: Priti Patel defends UK visa system for Ukrainian refugees