Impatient to hear about home hosting

FOR the third week in succession this Government has been heavily criticised on the weekly Question Time BBC programme, for what I can only describe as their deliberate incompetence in having help in place to aid our partners and friends in Nato deal with what we knew would be a growing Ukrainian refugee crisis.

Two weeks before the invasion by Russian troops, the British Government was told by the US intelligence that it would happen. One must assume they had a meeting to hear expert talk on what would happen, militarily, socially and economically, and to discuss options.

I believe the experts would have said that at home, there would be queues at petrol stations and a run on the food aisles in supermarkets, that would quite quickly taper off, which is exactly what happened. I’ll bet the supermarkets had worked that one out for themselves once they’d heard of the threatened invasion.

The Government would also have been told what would happen in Ukraine when Russian troops burst in through the front door.

That immediately a few hundred thousand Ukrainians would head out through the back door to the nearest friendly country – with Poland as favourite. Which is exactly what happened.

The invasion took place three weeks ago. Some 2.5 million Ukrainians have taken up refuge outside the country. Poland has 50% of the refugees, of which 1.2 million are in Warsaw – a city of 1.9 million. Its population has almost doubled in three weeks. Germany has 175,000 registered Ukrainian refugees.

Already, more than 150,000 people in Britain have registered their interest in housing a Ukrainian refugee under the new ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme.

There is no data to tell us how many have arrived in Britain, though a number of people with UK relatives have been featured in our local press.

Britain has known the invasion would happen for at least six weeks. Five weeks after we knew the invasion would happen, Michael Gove announced we would accept an unlimited number of Ukrainians refugees – if we, the good citizens of Britain, can find them.

Having duly press the “interested” button on the Government website nine days ago, I have received nothing – and others tell me it’s the same for them. I am now trying to make some contacts with Polish refugee organisations since our Government does not seem to be doing it.

Would someone please tell Mr Gove we don’t want to just volunteer – we do actually want to home host.

Don Frampton Newton Abbot, Devon