Oral Answers to Questions

Tulip Siddiq Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that my hon. Friend speaks for colleagues up and down the country. We want to make sure that councils are able to build in the right place and sensitively to local needs. That is what we insist on, but I want to make it absolutely clear that part of the genius of levelling up is that it will encourage us to take some of the pressure and heat out of the south-east of England, which has been overburdened for decades, and we can do it.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

Q10. My constituent Mark is trying to sponsor two sisters from Ukraine to come to the UK. These two sisters were housed in dangerous temporary accommodation in Montenegro for several weeks while the UK Home Office refused to process the application of the younger sister because she is 13 and travelling without her parents, even though she had her 18-year-old sister with her. The 18-year-old sister is now in London but the 13-year-old sister has been sent back to her home town in Ukraine, which is under siege. Will the Prime Minister tell me, hand on heart: does he think sending vulnerable children back to a war zone is the right policy?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course I understand the hon. Lady’s indignation about the case she mentions, and I know that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will be looking into it, but the record of this country in processing I think well over 100,000—120,000—visas for Ukrainians so far is very creditable and I thank all the staff who have been involved in that effort.