British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government's immigration policy on Monday (March 7th), praising its "
generosity
" while assuming the controls which led to the refusal of entry to Ukrainian refugees without visas.
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"
We already have two very, very generous pathways
" for welcoming Ukrainians to the UK, Boris Johnson said on television, referring to family reunification "
which could potentially see hundreds of thousands of people coming to this country
" and the “
humanitarian route
”.
While, according to the Interior Ministry, only “
about 50 visas
” had been granted on Sunday morning as part of the family reunification program for Ukrainian refugees, Boris Johnson assured that “
thousands of files
” were currently being processed by immigration services.
He warned, however, that the UK would not let refugees into the UK “
without any control or verification
”.
250 refugees were turned back by the British authorities
Since Friday, more than 10,000 Ukrainian refugees have already applied to enter the United Kingdom, according to its services.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Saturday criticized the
UK 's "
totally inadequate response
" and "
lack of humanity
" to Ukrainian refugees turned back in Calais, a port in northern France. , in a letter to his British counterpart Priti Patel.
Since February 28, 517 Ukrainians fleeing their country have tried to join their families in England via the port of Calais or the Channel Tunnel site in Coquelles.
But 250 of them, without visas, were turned back by the British authorities, the prefecture of the French department of Pas-de-Calais announced in a press release on Sunday.
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“
We are looking at the support we need on the ground in France
,” a Downing Street spokesperson said on Monday, confirming that people fleeing Ukraine have been asked to travel to Paris or Brussels to make their applications for Visa.
Accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of "
redoubled aggressiveness
" and "
of having decided to attack blindly
", Boris Johnson promised to "
respond
" to the humanitarian crisis caused.