LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – According to Sky News, Downing Street has slammed the brakes on Home Office plans to let a larger number of Ukrainians fleeing their country to live in the UK.
Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, came under fire this week from colleagues for failing to give additional routes for Ukrainians to enter the UK, causing outrage among Conservative MPs and speculation that she could be dismissed from her position.
According to Sky News, Number 10 played a crucial part in stifling two Ms Patel’s efforts that would have further opened up the system.
Number 10 dismissed any differences and insisted that the administration was united and moving forward at a rapid pace.
Ms Patel’s plan of creating a “humanitarian route” for Ukrainians, which she briefed to The Sun newspaper, was quashed by Number 10 on Monday.
Instead, a separate cabinet member, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, will present an alternative plan to let Ukrainians with a “sponsor,” such as a local government, to enter the nation on Monday.
Later in the week, Number 10 was a driving force behind the cancellation of a Home Office plan to allow family members of Ukrainians on temporary visas to enter the UK.
Ukrainians with permanent UK visas can bring their extended families here, but those with temporary visas cannot, according to the Home Office, which is proposing to change this.
According to Sky News, Number 10 persuaded the Home Office to drop a “write round,” which is an official government procedure in which ministers seek approval from cabinet colleagues for new policy.
According to a government source, Number 10 was not the only government agency attempting to persuade Ms Patel to drop the write-in campaign on the rights of Ukrainians on temporary visas.
Mr Johnson, his new chief of staff Steve Barclay, and Number 10 director of policy Andrew Griffith, according to two sources, have been wary of opening up channels for significant numbers of Ukrainians to come in without rigorous checks.
“The issue is that Number 10 – the Prime Minister and Steve Barclay – are personally slapping this down,” a source stated.
According to a Tory source, some officials in Number 10 have been more rigid on migration issues than many expected, and Ms Patel is being unfairly blamed.
Number 10 denied that there would be a row this week, insisting that the two primary pathways for Ukrainians being developed – inviting family members of Ukrainians with permanent visas and letting any Ukrainian who has been “sponsored” – are already very generous.
Government officials are determined to ensure that any new route is not exploited by criminals looking to come to the UK and settle.
Those Britons who provide sanctuary to Ukrainians must also be checked to ensure that they are not exploiting vulnerable refugees.
Boris Johnson said last night that he was unwilling to relax certain levels of inspections when accepting Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombardment.
