From the very start the UK has been out in front of the pack on Ukraine: We trained 22,000 of their troops over the last few years and armed them with anti-tank weapons: We made public the classified intelligence spelling out exactly what Russia was planning. Some of our allies were sceptical, but our ministers travelled relentlessly to European capitals to repeat the warnings.
When it came to the crunch we froze more Russian Assets than the USA and very much more than the EU.
Our humanitarian assistance to countries bordering Ukraine taking the refugee crisis, has been
faultless.
I have been inundated however, with complaints about our dilatory response on the issue of Ukrainian refugees.
Security is important: bona fides do need checking; there will be Russian agents and migrants from other countries masquerading as Ukrainians: we cannot just open the door without checking.
I have no difficulty with the two schemes that have been announced which strike me as fair and proportionate. I anticipate that family sponsored refugees will mostly dwell with their families that sponsored them. Equally individual and community sponsored refugees will reside in the housing that their sponsors have identified. This is an important consideration. Shortage of housing is easily the biggest headache in my inbox; and we still have 12,000 Afghan refugees in hotels to find homes for.
What has driven me, my correspondents and my parliamentary colleagues into a state of rage is the lamentable implementation of these schemes.
When many thought we were ‘crying wolf’, ministers really believed our own intelligence sources that an invasion was coming with all its predictable consequences – so we had weeks to plan and deploy forward processing centres in countries bordering Ukraine, well in advance of the arrival of refugees. It is deeply regrettable that this week we were still acquiring premises and defining the details on the schemes.
Sir Desmond Swayne TD
