UK Politics

Conservative MP Adam Holloway has been criticised by Downing Street for travelling to Ukraine against his own government’s advice.The former soldier and MP for Gravesham has appeared on GB News after crossing into war-struck Ukraine from south-east Poland.Mr Holloway described “extraordinary scenes” of traffic jams full of people trying to flee Ukraine, having also reported on refugees taking shelter inside a McDonald’s on the Polish side of the border.The 56-year-old, who serves on the foreign affairs select committee, appears to have gone against guidance with the Foreign Office advising against all travel to Ukraine.Boris Johnson’s spokesman said he was not aware of Mr Holloway’s trip to Ukraine but “our advice applies to everyone”, adding: “He should certainly not travel to Ukraine.”It comes as the prime minister contradicted foreign secretary Liz Truss and again insisted that the UK government is not actively supporting British volunteers who want to join the fight against Russia in Ukraine.Mr Holloway told GB News on Monday night that he started his day by going to McDonald’s near the border with Ukraine which was “packed with women and children and a few elderly people”.The Tory MP continued: “We then went up the road a couple of miles and I crossed over into Ukraine and then really quite extraordinary scenes of thousands of women and children queuing at the border, men separated, foreign men separated, some of them have been living in these corralled areas in the border posts for four days and nights in the cold.”Mr Holloway then drove east into Ukraine and described seeing “the mother of all traffic jams”, adding: “It went on for about 20 miles, I mean thousands and thousands and thousands of cars.”He described volunteers in a children’s nursery packing up donated medical supplies into medical kits for soldiers, before he headed to a military conscription site.Mr Holloway, who has previously worked as an investigative reporter for ITN and ITV, said: “We went round the corner and there was a place where people volunteer to sign up for the military, and we ran into Ukraine’s top concert pianist Igor Grubin.“It was fascinating talking to him, because so many people are volunteering for the military that they’re only taking people with actual military experience, there just aren’t enough guns.“I’ve only been on the ground for just over 12 hours but it seems to me that these people here are absolutely determined to fight. If you look at the moral component of warfare, and as you know I used to be a soldier, that is the decisive thing.”Mr Johnson became the latest cabinet minister to warn Britons away from Ukraine, as he spoke to reporters in Estonia.A suggested that the UK government was supporting volunteers, but the Prime Minister replied: “You’re not quite right in what you say about supporting volunteers going to fight, the UK is not actively doing such a thing.”Ms Truss said over the weekend that she would “absolutely” support British nationals who chose to join the fight, with a number of Britons keen to fight against Putin.A steady stream of people arrived at the Ukrainian embassy in west London on Tuesday to volunteer to fight against Russia’s invasion, and support the refugee effort at Ukraine’s borders.Roger Conway, from Newcastle, told the PA news agency near the embassy: “Solidarity doesn’t look real if you don’t do anything.” He said he assumed he would receive training from the Ukrainian military. More

Priti Patel has sparked anger by suggesting Labour MPs cannot be trusted to receive security briefings about threats to the UK from the crisis in Ukraine.The home secretary made the comment in defending her claim that the UK cannot be more generous to refugees fleeing the Russian invasion because of the “strongest security advice”.“I’m sure if the party opposite wanted a security briefing from our colleagues, we’d happily provide one,” she told Labour, during a Commons statement.“But, at the same time, I’m very sceptical of how they treat and respect security advice.”The allegation came despite Ms Patel, infamously, being sacked from Theresa May’s government for holding secret meetings with the Israeli government.Angela Eagle, a Labour MP and former minister, called the comment “disgraceful” – as Ms Patel failed to explain why security concerns rule out welcoming more refugees from war-torn UkraineJacqui Smith, a former Labour home secretary, tweeted: “That’s an unwarranted slur on the current opposition and unworthy of a home secretary.”Ms Patel hit out as she was forced to backtrack partially on her refusal to open the door to more Ukrainian refugees, apparently under pressure from Downing Street.More family members of Ukrainians in the UK – parents of adults, grandparents, adult offspring and siblings – will be eligible, instead of just spouses and children.And individuals, charities, businesses and community groups will be able to sponsor Ukrainians to work in the UK, outside of normal rules on salaries and language spoken.However, Ms Patel is still refusing to waive visa rules – as the EU is doing – and she admitted she had no idea how many people would take up the UK’s schemes, or how quickly.more follows More

Boris Johnson has vowed to set up a scheme allowing British people and companies to sponsor Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK.The prime minister has also expanded visa eligibility to more Ukrainian family members, following pressure to expand Britain’s offer to those fleeing the country hit by Russia’s invasion.Mr Johnson claimed more 200,000 Ukrainians could soon be eligible to come to the UK under the visa route, as the scheme was broadened to include more parents, adult children, grandparents and siblings.Speaking to reporters in Poland, Mr Johnson was grilled over his government’s refusal to copy the EU by waiving all visa rules for refugees fleeing Vladimir Putin’s forces.“We have always had a tradition of welcoming people in large numbers,” Mr Johnson told reporters. “We’re extending the family [visa] scheme so that considerable numbers would be eligible. We’re talking about a couple of hundred thousand, maybe more.”He added: “We’re going to have a humanitarian scheme, and then a scheme by which UK companies and citizens can sponsor individual Ukrainians to come to the UK. We’re doing exactly what the UNHCR is asking us to do.”No 10 later clarified the government’s decision, after home secretary Priti Patel had suggested on Monday that the Home Office would be sticking to only very limited changes to visa rules. Although the expanded scheme was set to apply only to spouses, the parents of children under 18 and children under 18, it will now be expanded to include parents of adult children, grandparents, adult children over 18, and the siblings of those settled in the UK.The prime minister’s official spokesman said the government would make a “broad and generous offer to the people of Ukraine”.The spokesperson also acknowledged the 200,000 figure used by Mr Johnson was “indicative only” as it was “impossible to predict” how many would want to come, rather than stay in countries closer to Ukraine.Dozens of senior Conservatives had joined Labour in demanding more “decisive” action on refugees, including ex-ministers Jeremy Hunt, Robert Buckland, Greg Clark, Damian Green and Caroline Nokes.On Tuesday Ms Patel confirmed in the Commons the definition of family members would be extended to “parents, grandparents, adult offspring, siblings and their immediate family members” under the Ukrainian family visa scheme.The home secretary also confirmed a “humanitarian sponsorship pathway” was being set up for Ukrainians who do not have close family members in the UK, but who can get sponsorship from a firm or individual – saying there would be no limit of the numbers who could apply.Meanwhile, Mr Johnson suggested ways in which sanctions on Putin’s regime could be tightened – urging other countries to back further tightening of the Swift international payment system on Russian entities.The PM said: “There is plainly more to be done on Swift, we can tighten up yet further on Swift, even though it has had a dramatic effect already I think we do need to go further.Mr Johnson added: “There’s more to be done on Sberbank, there’s more to be done on the freezing of Russian assets … I think there’s genuine amazement and dismay in Russia about what has happened already but there is more to be done.”There could be more “severing of sporting links” and “cracking down on the billionaires associated with Vladimir Putin”, Mr Johnson added.A Ukrainian journalist made an emotional appeal to Mr Johnson to impose a no-fly zone to protect civilians in the country as he was asked questions at the end of his press coference in Poland.Daria Kaleniuk said: “My call to the West is protect our sky. It is insane that our sky is being protected by children who are taking the heat.”Mr Johnson replied: “That’s not something that we can do or that we’ve envisaged. The consequences of that would be truly very, very difficult to control.” More

Boris Johnson has warned that Vladimir Putin’s aim in invading Ukraine is to “overthrow the Cold War order and destroy the vision of a Europe whole and free”. Speaking in Warsaw during a visit to Poland, the prime minister warned that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, his “imperial ambitions” would not end at its borders and “no country would be safe”.However, the PM vowed that the UK and other members of the international community will not relent in their sanctions on his regime and will be ready to continue supporting Ukraine in what could be “a prolonged crisis”. Moscow’s effort to rewrite the political settlement of Europe was “something the UK and our allies could never accept”, he said.Mr Johnson said that even if Russia succeeds in taking Ukraine, its fiercely contested occupation of the vast country can be expected to be “militarily exhausting and economically ruinous” for Moscow.He called on Putin to avert catastrophic consequences for Russia by withdrawing his tanks and troops immediately, telling the Russian president: “Turn them round and take the path to peace.”Mr Johnson said that Putin was “tearing up every principle of civilised behaviour between states”.“He has hurled his war machine on the people of Ukraine, a fellow Slavic country,” said the prime minister. “He has bombarded civilian targets, fired rockets at blocks of flats, he is responsible for hundreds of civilian casualties including growing numbers of children.“And also, of course, for the deaths of many Russian and Ukrainian soldiers.“We must accept the grim reality that Putin will continue to tighten the vice and, if you go by the size and firepower of Vladimir Putin’s war machine, the odds have always been heavily against Ukrainian armed forces.”But he said that Putin had made a “colossal mistake” by invading Ukraine.“Putin has lied to his people and to his troops about how this conflict would go, and he has now been caught out in that lie,” he said.“They have not been welcomed to Ukraine as he prophesized, their tanks have not been cheered in the streets or garlanded with flowers.“Instead, Ukrainians have mounted an astonishing and tenacious resistance.”Evidence of Putin’s brutal military tactics could be used in a future war crimes trial at The Hague, said Mr Johnson.“There’s no doubt that he is already using barbaric tactics, bombing civilian areas,” said the PM.“I have seen the reports about cluster bombs and thermobaric weapons. They will, of course, have to be verified.“I think that everybody involved in the Russian onslaught should understand that all this will be collated in evidence to be used at a future time in what could be proceedings before the International Criminal Court.” More

Russia will resort to provoking riots and shooting citizens “on the spot” after its early attempts to crush resistance faltered, Ukraine’s ambassador has warned.In chilling evidence to MPs, Vadym Prystaiko predicted a “second part” of the invasion is looming, after Moscow’s troops were not “greeted with flowers” as Vladimir Putin had claimed.This would involve introducing “martial law” in cities it held and dealing with Ukrainian who still resisted in a “military way”, a committee of MPs was told.“Resilience is going so much against his plans and people in Russia are starting to ask questions ‘what are we doing there and why?’,” Mr Prystaiko said.“So I believe they might use the tactics we should describe as the second part – try to block our cities, try to soften political position, try maybe some riots in Ukraine.”This could see residents “ordered to leave or be shot on the spot,” the ambassador to the UK told the Commons foreign affairs committee.During the session, Mr Prystaiko also said:* Ukrainians currently have food, water and electricity – but warned: “This infrastructure are starting to be targeted”.* Poland and Slovakia, currently welcoming huge numbers of refugees would “sooner or later run out” of hotels, houses and sports facilities for them.* Wounded Russian troops were being “treated in our own hospitals, along with our own people” – and would be returned to Russia “when the war is over”.* Experts “came up with nothing” when they war-gamed would persuade Putin to end the invasion – warning: “He doesn’t need anything – he doesn’t want anything.”* There is thought to be no-one senior in Putin’s inner circle ready to turn on him – arguing the “only soft spot he still has is his own population”.Highlighting how Russia has met resistance it never expected, the ambassador told the MPs: “People are throwing Molotov cocktails from their cars passing by Russian tanks.”But he suggested he had little hope for the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, saying “we just stated our positions and went back to our capitals”.The Kremlin was demanding demilitarisation of Ukraine and recognition of the annexed state of Crimea as Russian territory.On how Putin’s assault can be defeated, Mr Prystaiko said: “The only soft spot he still has is his own population. The circle around him, we don’t believe that they are self-sufficient or risky enough to tell him no.” More

Labour has refused to back calls for an open door policy for Ukrainian refugees, after nearly 40 Tory MPs said the UK should adopt one.Speaking on Monday evening the opposition party’s international development spokesperson was asked about demand but would only say the process for applying to come to the UK should be “simplified”. Preet Kaur Gill said the UK’s visa website needed to be improved and that “only those people that have family members in the United Kingdom” wanted to come to Britain. Jeremy Hunt, one of the 37 Tory MPs calling for Britain to follow the EU’s lead on refugees from the conflict, told the BBC’s Newsnight programme that Britain had a “long tradition” of helping refugees.Asked whether he supported an “open door” policy for Ukrainian refugees mirroring the one adopted by the European Union, senior Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt said: “Yes. And I expect we will get something like that from the next couple of days from the prime minister. “Remember, he has a track record of being very generous in his offer to people wanting to leave Hong Kong. And I know that Britain has this long tradition of being open to genuine refugees as obviously people fleeing Ukraine are.”But asked on the same programme whether Labour also wanted an “open door” policy, Labour frontbencher Preet Kaur Gill said:”Well, look, we need a very simplified process.”What was really clear from the House of Commons today earlier, it was a question that Yvette Cooper put to the Home Secretary was given the current scheme does it actually expand to elderly parents, for example, and she indicated that it did. “Of course, Yvette had to make a point of order and correct her because that is not the case. “At the moment, unless you’re a partner, or you have dependents or someone to care for this scheme does not apply to you. “Our process is so difficult. Just imagine when you go onto the website, how difficult it is to navigate, and all people need from Ukraine is to know that they’re going to be able to join their loved ones. “Many of these people are women and children. Of course, their partners are left behind. Many of the people fleeing Ukraine will want to stay in neighbouring countries. “So only those people that have family members in the United Kingdom, they want to be able to come and join them, and we’ve got to enable a process that is simple that enables them to do that.”Pushed again on whether Labour supported an open door policy specifically, as endorsed by the Tory MPs and implemented by the EU, she said: “What we’re saying is we need a simplified scheme. We’ve already got one of the Hong Kong one it’s working really well. We need to have something very similar to that.”The government’s visa concessions for Ukrainians announced over the weekend have beenwidely criticised by campaigners as insufficient – with many close family members including adult children, parents of adults, brothers and sisters not covered under the scheme.The Independent last week launched its Refugees Welcome campaign, calling on the government to set up a resettlement scheme to grant sanctuary in the UK to Ukrainians fleeing the bloody conflict. Polls suggest a strong backing for the move.Andrew Scattergood, co-chair of left-wing pressure group Momentum, said Labour should change its policy and bring it into line with EU states.”The Labour leadership must urgently change position and fully commit to safe passage for every Ukrainian refugee who needs it, as the EU has done,” he said.”Even Tory MPs are recognising an open door policy is the bare minimum we should be demanding for Ukrainians.”The EU has said it will allow entry to all people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will not require them to apply for asylum, under its Temporary Protection Directive scheme.EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said she did not know how many people would come, adding: “I think we will have to prepare for millions.”Various estimates by the UN and refugee organisations put the number of people fleeing the Russian invasion at somewhere between four and seven million people. More