by Lauren Spencer
Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced eased visa restrictions for Ukrainian refugees as calls for her resignation ring out.
Patel has said that the visa application process for Ukrainians with passports will move to online from Tuesday, as outrage erupted after UK border officials turned away refugees in Calais, France.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper openly criticised the Home Office in the House of Commons today. She said: “Why does it always take being hauled into the House of Commons to make basic changes to help vulnerable people who are fleeing Ukraine?
“Up to now, the response from the Home Office has been total, total disgrace, bringing shame upon our country.”
Thousands on Twitter are calling for Patel’s resignation.
Outraged users are tweeting the hashtag #PritiPatelResign after news broke earlier that refugees were scrambling to find a way to meet strict UK visa requirements.
“I think in this situation, [the UK] should help as much as it can,” said Annie, 19, a Cisco Certified Network Associate student at London Met who did not want to give her surname. “Some people have families and babies; I think we should accept as many as we can.”
The EU has scrapped visas for people fleeing Ukraine for up to three years.
But the Guardian reported on Wednesday that an estimated 600 refugees trying to enter the UK have been turned away in Calais in the last ten days.
Earlier, Prime Minster Boris Johnson provoked outrage when he implied that the UK was taking in many refugees with its “very generous” approach, but it turned out that it had accepted only 50, despite applications totalling at least 13,000. He later said that he was unsure of the exact numbers.
As of today, 300 visas had been issued to Ukrainians, according to the Daily Mail.
A Polish builder fleeing Ukraine with his family told The Guardian: “They treated us worse than the water in the toilet.”
An estimated two million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, according to the U.N, the Washington Post reported.
Calais is a French city that lies at the boundary between the North Sea and the English Channel, known for being a meeting spot for people seeking asylum in the UK.
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