We’re in danger of being the one nation that failed Ukrainian refugees
ALMOST exactly one month ago, our Government introduced a sponsor scheme to allow Ukrainian refugees into the UK.
The war had already been raging for three weeks. Our European allies had opened their doors to the refugees.
Time was of the essence. These were largely women and children fleeing a lethally dangerous conflict zone.
Since then, how many Ukrainians have been let into the country? Go on, take a guess.
Bear in mind Germany has welcomed 316,000 refugees. Some 35,000 Ukrainians have gone to live in tiny Belgium.
Poland has opened its doors to more than 2.6million.
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Even inhospitable France has let in close to 40,000. Cash-strapped and distant Spain? More than 110,000.
And our figure? A magnificent 12,000. It’s a bit shameful, don’t you think?
Is this because Ukrainians don’t want to come here? Nope, there are at least 40,000 visas pending. But still the refugees fail to arrive.
In all other respects, the UK’s support for Ukraine has been steadfast, generous and admirable.
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We have been at the forefront of sending military equipment — along with experts to train the Ukrainian soldiers in how to use the new hi-tech weaponry we’ve bunged them.
For this, the Ukrainians have been very grateful. Our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been singled out by Putin’s gangster henchmen in the Kremlin as being the most “hostile” of European leaders.
That’s a badge Johnson should wear with pride, of course.
All the while France’s President Emmanuel Macron was making increasingly useless phone calls to the Russki dictator.
And Germany was getting cold feet over allowing so much as a spud gun across its borders into Ukraine.
But this is one area where we have utterly failed the people of Ukraine.
These are not, in the main, long-term refugees. They are not the economic migrants who turn up in boats on our shores.
They are largely women and children who have left their men to do the fighting at home — to where they will return when Putin is finally defeated.
They should be welcomed here.
But the problem here is that we are still demanding that each refugee should have a visa.
That means whole families cannot come to the UK until every member has separately filled in a horrendously complicated visa form. And these visas are taking three weeks to process. In some cases that is the difference between life and death.
Other European countries have scrapped the need for visas. Surely now, we should do the same.
There’s also the usual red tape from the council over where these refugees should be housed. The usual pencil-necked jobsworths with their clipboards.
Don’t they realise this is an emergency?
There is no real excuse for this shambles.
We have to waive the restrictions and let more people in, quickly.
Or we will become known as the country which, alone in Europe, failed to open its doors.
Oh — and while we’re on the subject, what should we do about Ryanair?
The Irish airline charged a family of Ukrainian refugees an extra 60 euros for a boarding pass because its computer kept crashing and the family couldn’t print a pass before coming to the airport in Poland.
The family couldn’t afford this extra money, so they lost their flight.
If you’re going away for the summer, make sure it isn’t with Ryanair. Hit them where it hurts.
Eagle farce
ANGUS MacNEIL is a Scottish National Party MP. He’s also a part-time farmer – and he has called for a cull of the beautiful white-tailed eagles reintroduced to the north of Scotland.
He says they are eating local lambs. Wildlife campaigner Chris Packham has rightly told him to shut up.
The amount of money in subsidies we pay farmers such as MacNeil is obscene. Whereas endangered birds of prey generate millions of pounds in tourist money.
We need a lot more rewilding in this country – and we should pay a lot less attention to the shrieks of outrage from the farmers.
Shame on beak Leake
WHAT’S wrong with our judges? Has someone wandered around ripping out their spines?
Judge Stephen Leake had a bunch of gobby, self-righteous, unwashed, middle-class Insulate Britain protesters up before him.
People called things like “Biff”.
They’d been gluing themselves to stuff, as usual. Making ordinary people’s lives a misery.
They held up an ambulance on its way to hospital, among other stuff. Oh, and they’d been vandalising walls with graffiti.
What did Leake make of them? He said they “inspired” him.
You drip, Leake. What message does that send out to all the other sanctimonious tossers?
I just hope that if you’re ever in an ambulance – maybe on your way to have a new spine inserted – a bunch of hypocrites “inspired” by your comments glue themselves to the road in front of you.
HERO of the week is Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
He would seem to be the only Labour politician in existence who can tell you, accurately, what a woman is.
Yes, I know the rest of us don’t have much trouble doing so. But Labour has one or two problems over this issue.
Anas entered the great transgender debate. He told Nick Ferrari: “You can’t argue with biology. Biology is clear.”
Quite, mate. Now have a word with Keir Starmer, will you?
Maybe show him some pictures . . .
FOOTIE BOSS IS OFF-SIDE
THE boss of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels has been doing one of those very familiar apologies.
His side had just been hammered five-nowt by England, with a flood of goals coming during the second half. Shiels explained that he thought his lasses conceded so rapidly because they were upset – and “more emotional than men”.
Oh dear. I dunno how thick you have to be not to know that’s going to get you into hot water. So he apologised.
Remember Kenny – there’s certain stuff you simply can’t say. No matter how true you believe it to be.
No matter how true it actually is.
Travel ban is so La-La
THEY’RE lovely people, America’s liberals, aren’t they? Full of tolerance for other people’s opinions.
And not remotely obsessive.
Los Angeles County in the US, a very liberal authority, has banned its employees from making official, taxpayer-funded visits to Florida and Texas.
Why? Because those states have passed legislation which Los Angeles doesn’t like.
Such as rules limiting what can be taught in sex education classes. And laws limiting abortions.
Oklahoma – next door to Texas – is about to pass similar laws. Alabama and Mississippi won’t be far behind.
Soon those LA airheads won’t be allowed to travel anywhere beyond their own benighted state.
SHOULD Boris Johnson resign over so-called Partygate?
Probably. You’re not meant to break the law when you’re PM. Especially when it’s a law you’ve come up with. And which everyone hates.
But I’m getting so bored by Partygate that I don’t care terribly much, to tell you the truth.
Boris misled Parliament and attended a party when he shouldn’t have done.
In doing so, he lost a huge lead over Labour.
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Johnson’s punishment will come in the council elections next month.
Right now, I don’t think people care terribly much.
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MYSTICMISHAP
THINGS are looking up – according to astrologers.
The planets Jupiter and Neptune are “meeting” in the House of Pisces.
Something they haven’t done for 166 years.
Apparently this means good times are just around the corner.
Isn’t that absolutely bloody marvellous? The time to really watch out, though, is when Saturn disappears into Uranus.
Those rings can be really painful. And so, therefore, will yours.