Today, Tory MPs voted to make it a criminal offense for Ukrainian families to arrive in the UK without the proper paperwork, with a sentence of up to four years in prison. At a time when the British people have made it clear that we need to help Ukrainian refugees, this is deeply shameful.
The Conservatives also voted against the International Refugee Convention, which Britain helped draft in the aftermath of World War II, and called on all countries to do their part to help those fleeing the horrors of war. This should be a source of pride, and for the British Government to reject it when war rages in Europe again is unforgivable.
More than 3 million people have left Ukraine since the Russian invasion, many of them children and the elderly. They need support and solidarity from all countries. The Interior Ministry has already been too slow to help. Today’s polls make it much worse. Britain is better than this.