Refugees from Ukraine Debate

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Department: Home Office

Refugees from Ukraine

Rachael Maskell Excerpts
Thursday 10th March 2022

(2 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I said in my statement, our No. 1 priority is to keep our country safe, while streamlining processes where we can. We will continue to do so; we will not stop here. My final point is that situations can change, and with that, threat assessments can change as well. Obviously, I will keep colleagues updated on that.

Rachael Maskell Portrait Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Home Secretary has been on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of humanity. We are talking about women, children and older people. My constituent’s friend has just crossed the border into Poland, and when she went to get her visa she was told to go back to a city called Kyiv, in the middle of a war zone. There is still chaos at the borders—the Home Secretary shakes her head, but she was told that. There is chaos at the borders, so why can people not come visa free to the UK border to collect their documentation and then get the warm welcome that the Home Secretary talks about?

Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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I refer the hon. Lady to the statement I made earlier. I cannot comment on the anecdotal evidence that she has given, but bearing in mind that Kyiv is obviously under siege, it is thoroughly inappropriate if anybody made that comment.