‘My heart goes out to the people of the Ukraine as they bravely defend their country.’ Julia Lopez MP

Hornchurch and Upminster MP Julia Lopez today shares her view on the war in the Ukraine.

Like you, I am absolutely appalled at Russia’s unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state, and the despicable violence being meted out on the Ukrainian people. My heart goes out to them as they bravely defend their country.

Understandably, people across Hornchurch & Upminster are deeply worried about these events and have a range of concerns and questions about them. Due to the significant volume of correspondence I have received on this topic and in the interest of providing a timely reply, I have set out responses to the broad set of issues raised with me. Please bear in mind, however, that this is a very fluid situation which is engaging every part of government, so our response is developing in real time and therefore evolving rapidly.

Refugees and humanitarian support

Most constituents who have written to me have quite rightly focused on the impact that events are having upon the civilian population of Ukraine and the urgent need to provide support to those displaced by the conflict. 

The Prime Minister has announced so far £220 million of emergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and put 1000 troops on standby to help with humanitarian efforts. The UK is also guaranteeing up to $500 million of loans to Ukraine through Multilateral Development Banks.

Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon on immigration, the Home Secretary announced a new Ukrainian Humanitarian Route that will allow families to be reunited in the UK, alongside a bespoke sponsor route that will give safety to Ukrainians forced to flee. She has been talking to her Ukrainian counterpart, Vadym Prystaiko, so that our humanitarian support is in Ukraine’s best interests and reflects the asks being made of us by its government. 

Our range of measures includes:

• allowing the family members of British nationals who do not meet the usual eligibility criteria for visas, but pass security checks, to enter the UK outside the visa rules for 12 months
• allowing British nationals and any person settled in the UK to bring over immediate Ukrainian family members – this will allow an additional 100,000 Ukrainians to be able to enter the UK with access to work and public services
• allowing Ukrainian nationals already in the UK the ability to switch, free of charge, into a points-based immigration route or a family visa route
• extending visas for Ukrainian temporary workers in some sectors who can now stay until at least December 2022

UK Visas and Immigration staff are being surged to visa application centres in the nearby area and applications are being completed within hours. A hotline has been set-up to assist British nationals in Ukraine, their family members and Ukrainian nationals and I would encourage anyone who is concerned for anyone in Ukraine to contact this hotline which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-family-members-of-british-nationals-in-ukraine-and-ukrainian-nationals-in-ukraine-and-the-uk

The Home Secretary has been clear in her statements that the above measures are the first phase of a bespoke humanitarian route and I look forward to further announcements in this area in due course. Indeed, whilst writing this response, the Prime Minister has been speaking in Poland stated that, whilst the total number of Ukrainian’s assisted to the UK is hard to calculate, that over 200,000 could be supported.