James O'Brien asks whether the 'Homes for Ukraine' refugee scheme was 'designed to fail'

3 May 2022, 12:38

'We're the country of Rwandan deportations'

By James Bickerton

James O'Brien has questioned whether the Government's shambolic "Homes for Ukraine" programme, which allows Britons to apply to host Ukrainian refugees, was deliberately setup to fail.

The Home Office is being threatened with legal action by potential hosts, furious there has been "inordinate and unreasonable delays" to processing their applications.

Speaking about the scheme's failings LBC show James asked: "Is it too nebulous to say it's deliberate?"

Referencing the Home Office he added: "What did you expect from the department that brought you Windrush?

"The department that brought you the deportation of completely innocent people to Rwanda."

Ukrainian ambassador

"When Ireland was waiving visas, Priti Patel was waving flags on her Twitter account."

More than five million Ukrainians have fled their country since the Russian invasion began on February 24, with many more internally displaced.

In a statement the Home Office said: "In response to Putin's barbaric invasion we launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history.

"The changes the Home Office has made to streamline the visa system, including simplifying the forms and boosting staff numbers, are working and we are now processing visas as quickly as they come in - enabling thousands more Ukrainians to come through our uncapped routes.

"Over 86,000 visas have been issued so Ukrainians can live and work in the UK."