Delay in issuing visas to Ukrainian refugees a national shame - The Yorkshire Post says

The fact that at least 800 refugees fleeing the diabolical conflict in Ukraine are still waiting for visas to enter Britain is a source of national shame.

The daily horrors visited on the people of Ukraine by invading Russian forces on the command of its president Vladamir Putin have displaced many thousands of families who have been forced to flee to foreign neighbours.

And it is testimony to the generosity and humanity of the British people that so many households have decided to make their homes available to those Ukrainian nationals, chiefly women and children, seeking to escape the violence ravaging their nation.

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The situation is so desperate that would-be sponsors under the Homes For Ukraine visa scheme are now threatening the Government with legal action on behalf of hundreds of refugees who have spent weeks waiting to come to the UK, with a class action lawsuit being prepared over “inordinate and unreasonable delays” in processing applications.

Ukraine is being subjected to bloody warfareUkraine is being subjected to bloody warfare
Ukraine is being subjected to bloody warfare

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has at least admitted that refugees could have been helped to get to the UK faster but this will be of little comfort to those fleeing Ukraine.

Campaigners have alluded to a possible judicial review of the Government’s visa-processing policy, which has been shown on this issue to be unfit for purpose.

And while it is welcome that senior political figures, including the Prime Minister, have acknowledged that more needs to be done, it is now incumbent on them to sort this mess out so that the UK can join the rest of Europe in helping Ukraine’s citizens in their hour of need.