Desperate Ukrainians have to smuggle children to UK

Desperate Ukrainian families are resorting to illegal routes and rogue advisers” to bring their children to Britain after catastrophic” changes to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, ministers have been told.

- ANDY GREGORY

The government, which has vowed “ironclad” support for Ukrainians, has been warned repeatedly since taking office that changes to the Ukrainian sponsorship schemes – made overnight last February by the Tory administration – are preventing children from joining their parents in the UK.

This has now created the “inevitable” situation in which families are resorting to bringing children to the UK via irregular routes, leaving them at risk of exploitation by criminals and people traffickers, a charity supporting Ukrainians told the home secretary this week.

Speaking to The Independent, one Ukrainian mother said she was left with no choice but to bring her children from Ukraine illegally after their carer grandparent fell ill, and urged the government to change course to allow families to reunite in safety.

Her call was backed by Labour peer Alf Dubs, who arrived in the UK as a six-year-old fleeing the Nazis. “The basic right should surely be if you have got children somewhere they should be able to join their parents,” he said.

Having previously warned that the current situation “betrays our commitment to Ukrainians”, Lord Dubs said it was not right that families were being put in such a position, adding: “I don’t believe this is what the government wants to happen.”

Approached about the latest warning, the Home Office said it was aware of issues caused by the February rule changes and was taking urgent action to resolve them “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

While Ukrainian refugees could previously sponsor family members, now only British and Irish citizens or those with permanent leave to remain can do so. Announcing the changes last year, the government admitted it had done so without warning to avoid a “misplaced surge of applications”.