Family barred from hosting Ukrainian refugees because home has bare floorboards
The Government has suggested homes need to be safe, in a “clean, reasonable” state, have adequate kitchen and bathroom space, smoke detectors on each floor, a gas…
Furious families to protest over visa delays for Ukrainian refugees
Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, who launched the Homes For Ukraine scheme, is said to be seething. Asked whether the Home Office was not fit for purpose,…
Ukrainian refugees trying to get to UK left in limbo by missing emails
Ukrainian refugees seeking to come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are being left in limbo after emails granting their applications went missing. Tetiana…
Landlords spared £8k tax bills for taking in Ukrainian refugees
The tax trap threatened to catch out those who had transferred their property portfolios into professional companies to make their business more efficient, in the wake of…
Delays to Ukrainian refugee applications ‘unacceptable’, admits minister
The refugees minister has blamed Home Office red tape for the “unacceptable” delays to Ukrainians’ applications for refuge in UK homes that have seen just 2,700 visas…
‘Bombs were falling – but I had to play for Ukraine so people did not forget’
“I thought it was a normal day,” says Maria Ulitina, taking a moment to process the memory. “But that morning I woke up because I heard an…
First MP to take in Ukrainian refugee says she wants to give her ‘the skills to rebuild Kyiv’
Vika said she felt so grateful to any British families taking in Ukrainians fleeing the conflict. “English people are so kind because they’re trying to think how…
Ukrainian refugees could face ‘backlash’ after initial support
He warned that the number of Ukrainians who had left their country – estimated by the UN to be more than 3.5 million – has already far…
Ministerial grace-and-favour homes could be used to house Ukrainian refugees
Chequers, Chevening and other ministerial grace-and-favour homes could house Ukrainian refugees after Boris Johnson ordered officials to review their use to help the humanitarian crisis. Government sources…
Adults hosting Ukrainian refugee families with children must undergo ‘enhanced’ checks
Ministers say they have also streamlined the visa application process to complete it within days. Lord Harrington, the refugees minister, said earlier this week that he expected…
Those of us who don’t have space for a refugee care passionately too – we just want a way to show it
Charity, we all agree, begins at home. But the crisis in Ukraine has thrown us a curveball: whose home, exactly? The householders generously throwing open their doors…
If only I had the extraordinary generosity to house a refugee
Within 24 hours of the Government launching its “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, more than 100,000 people had signed up. But not me. Not yet. My cursor is…
Open your homes to Ukrainian refugees, but don’t pretend it’s as easy as tidying the spare room
Is there anyone watching the news who does not want to help Ukrainians? Actually I know a good few people who don’t watch the news as they…
More than 43,000 offer to house a Ukrainian refugee in first five hours of UK scheme
Mr Gove repeatedly banged on the despatch box as he told MPs: “I have had it up to here with people trying to suggest this country is…
How to welcome a refugee into your home
“The night after we spoke I spent the night wondering what I’d let myself in for, on every level – practical, emotional, financial,” he tells me. “But…
We must be ready to offer sanctuary to refugees for the long run
Judging by the remarkable public response, I suspect there might soon be more offers of housing for Ukrainian refugees here than Ukrainians wishing to take them up….
Ukrainians coming to Britain under ‘rooms-for-refugees’ scheme to get full welfare benefits
Gerald Darmanin, Priti Patel’s French counterpart, wrote to her on Sunday saying the UK’s approach demonstrated a “lack of humanity” towards those “in distress”. Four days later…
Poland’s extraordinary generosity
The House of Commons rose to applaud Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, when he addressed MPs on Tuesday. His country’s resilience in the face of Russia’s aggression has…
UK must lift visa requirements, says Ukraine ambassador as he reveals wife faced ‘bureaucratic hassles’
The Ukrainian ambassador to Britain has urged the Government to lift all visa requirements as he revealed that even his wife, Inna, had previously suffered “bureaucratic hassles”…
Home Office blunders shame this country
What is wrong with the Home Office? It is hard to imagine a more dysfunctional Whitehall department; and yet listening to the hapless Kevin Foster, a junior…
Ignore the sniping – our war effort for Ukraine is something we should all be proud of
That was me finished. I was in tears. On the government frontbench, Ben Wallace, our battle-hardened Defence Secretary, was fighting hard to contain his. He swallowed hard…
‘Pop-up’ UK visa site for Ukrainian refugees to be set up in Lille
Earlier, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, had pledged to provide military assistance to speed up the application process, which has seen just 300 Ukrainian refugee applications approved…
Sex traffickers exploit Ukrainian refugees as dark side of exodus to Europe emerges
Sex traffickers are taking advantage of young women and unaccompanied children fleeing the war in Ukraine, police and volunteers in Poland have warned. As more than a…
Ukraine-Russia evening briefing: Five developments as Foreign Office urges Britons to leave Russia
Ukraine postponed its evacuation of civilians from Mariupol after accusing Russia of ignoring a ceasefire that had been established on Saturday morning. It came as the Government…