Davey: Send in armed forces personnel to help get Ukrainian refugees to the UK

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called on Boris Johnson to send in armed forces personnel to speed up safe routes for Ukrainian refugees to reach the UK.

It comes as the Home Office has been strongly criticised for failing to get to grips with the crisis, leaving Ukrainian families fleeing war struggling to get appointments and facing long delays to have their visa applications processed.

Speaking at PMQs today, Ed Davey challenged the Prime Minister to help resolve the issue by deploying armed forces personnel to supplement Home Office and Border Force staff in Calais and at visa centres across Europe. This would help ensure refugees from Ukraine seeking to reach the UK are able to enter the country quickly and safely.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“The UK has a long and proud history of providing sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution.

“But the Home Office has failed to live up to that tradition, by turning away hundreds of Ukrainian refugees just because they don’t have the right paperwork.

“It is heartbreaking to see Ukrainian families fleeing this terrible war being stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare because of the government’s stubbornness and incompetence.

“The Home Office has shown it is clearly not up to the task. Boris Johnson must urgently sort out this mess and send armed forces personnel in, to speed up the process and help Ukrainian refugees arrive here quickly and safely.”