The home secretary has apologised over the time taken to get a new visa system for Ukrainian refugees up and running – as Labour said new figures on the programme were “scandalous and shameful”.
Priti Patel made the comments in a BBC interview recorded ahead of the release of new Home Office data showing just 12,000 people had arrived in the UK under the new schemes, as of Tuesday.
The figures showed 10,800 had arrived under the Ukraine family scheme – for those with existing family connections in the UK.
Priti Patel expressed her frustration in an interview
But only 1,200 have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.
More than 200,000 people have expressed an interest in opening their homes to a refugee under the initiative.
The new figures showed that as of Thursday, just under 80,000 visa applications had been submitted to the two schemes and 40,900 had been granted.
Of these, 43,600 applications were for the sponsorship scheme, with 12,500 visas issued.
The figues showed that of 36,300 requests made for family visas, 28,500 had been approved.
Ms Patel told the BBC: “I apologise with frustration myself… it takes time to start up a new route.”
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‘You deserve truth’: PM addresses Russians
But the home secretary denied that visa requirements and checks are slowing the process and causing delays, insisting that the UK will “absolutely see changes in numbers” as work continues.
The British Red Cross is urging the UK to temporarily lift visa requirements as other countries have.
Read more: How can Ukrainians get UK visas – and why is it proving so difficult?
Germany alone has so far taken in 320,000 refugees from Ukraine since the start of the war.
Alex Fraser, the organisation’s director of refugee support, said: “The whole process is taking far too long.
“Complicated visa schemes have delayed or deterred many people from seeking safety in the UK.”
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Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, described the figures as “scandalous and shameful”, claiming thousands of people are “stuck in limbo” as she called on Ms Patel to “account for this national disgrace”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the government was “squandering” the generosity of Britons who had offered their homes to Ukrainians, through “needless bureaucracy and delays”.
He said of the home secretary: “An apology isn’t enough. She must resign.”
A government spokeswoman said: “In response to Putin’s barbaric invasion we have launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history.
“In just four weeks, over 40,000 visas have been issued so people can rebuild their lives in the UK.”