Priti Patel denies UK is turning back Ukrainian refugees at Calais

France's Interior Minister had claimed that Ukrainians were being turned away by British officials in the northern port city

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel with Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, during her visit to the Ukrainian Social Club in London. Ms Patel said British staff were being flown to countries bordering Ukraine 'so we can fast-track and speed up applications'. Photo: PAShow less

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has insisted that Ukrainian refugees are not being turned back at the French port city of Calais and said the UK is “doing everything possible” to speed up efforts to grant them visas.

On Sunday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said it was “inhumane” of the UK to turn away refugees arriving at Calais if they did not have a valid visa.

Ms Patel responded by saying that the British government was “not turning anybody around or turning anybody back at all”.

“And I think it’s really important to emphasise that, particularly at this time, when all nations across Europe must work together to help and support people in need and fleeing Ukraine at this awful, awful time.”

“I have staff in Calais to provide support to Ukrainian families that have left Ukraine to come to the United Kingdom. It is wrong and it is inaccurate to say that we are not providing support on the ground. We are.”

The Home Office said “around 50” visas had been granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme as of 10am on Sunday. The government said that 5,535 applications had been completed and submitted online and 2,368 people had booked a visa appointment to submit their application and biometric information.

On Sunday, Ms Patel visited the Ukrainian Social Club in Holland Park, west London, where she dropped off a bag of donations before meeting volunteers helping with relief efforts. She later held a meeting with the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko.

Asked if it was acceptable that only about 1 per cent of submitted applications had been granted in the first 48 hours of the visa scheme, she said: “Let’s be clear, this is the first scheme in the world that’s up and running in this short period of time.

“Ten thousand applications and, yes, grants are happening as we stand here right now and are speaking."

Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters

A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP

Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters

A man flees from Irpin. Reuters

A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP

People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters

A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP

A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images

A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP

A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP

Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA

People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA

First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP

A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP

A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo

People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo

Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP

A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA

Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo

A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo

Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo

Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo

Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo

Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo

A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo

A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo

Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

Ms Patel said the UK government was increasing staff numbers at application centres across the EU "as well as in the border countries such as Poland, where I was the other day and obviously where huge numbers of people are coming through”.

She said staff were being flown to border countries “so we can fast-track and speed up applications, and it’s right that we do this”.

Speaking outside the Ukrainian embassy in west London, Mr Prystaiko said the visa process for refugees fleeing his homeland for Britain could be improved.

“We believe that some of the procedures can be really simplified.

“We will sort it out later. Now we have to let as maximum people we can have as possible.

“All the security checks should be in place for obvious reasons because it is a war.”

But he said any “bureaucratic nonsense” should be cleared for now, something he said the UK is already doing, both with immigration and on sanctions.