Theresa May has warned that people smugglers will try to traffic Ukrainian child refugees into Britain.
The former prime minister’s warning came as the UN said that half of the three million people who had fled Ukraine were minors.
May demanded that the Home Office and National Crime Agency step up resources and equipment at the border to help identify children being trafficked.
Many unaccompanied children would have fled Ukraine without documentation, leaving them vulnerable to criminal gangs that had begun targeting vulnerable women and children within a day of the first refugees crossing the Ukraine-Polish border, May told MPs yesterday.
As of 9.15pm yesterday, 122,305 people and groups in the UK had signed up to give homes to Ukrainian refugees, just over 24 hours after the scheme was launched. From Friday, they will be able to name a Ukrainian refugee or family they want to bring to the UK. The Local Government Association said it expected the first Ukrainians to be with their UK host as early as Sunday.
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It called on the government to provide “up-to-the minute data” to ensure that councils can supply support as quickly and appropriately as possible and warned that local authorities faced a “very tight timeframe” to carry out safety checks on accommodation.
James Jamieson, the Local Government Association chairman, urged the government to provide a back-up plan for refugees whose sponsored accommodation did not meet safety standards. “Despite good intentions, there is a risk that some accommodation may not meet safety expectations when inspected by councils, or sponsorships may break down.”
The expenses watchdog has cleared the way for MPs to use their taxpayer-funded homes to house refugees.
Ipsa was forced to issue a statement insisting there was “nothing in our rules” preventing MPs from using their homes to house refugees, after government whips told MPs they were barred from participating in the scheme.
• How you can host Ukrainian refugees
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A streamlined application process came into effect yesterday to allow refugees in possession of a Ukrainian passport to apply for a visa online. Some applications were being processed and approved by Home Office officials within ten minutes, a source in the department told The Times.
The number of visas issued to Ukrainian refugees would rapidly increase as a result, the source said. More than 4,600 visas had been granted under the Ukraine family visa scheme despite 33,000 applications being submitted by Monday evening, representing the first ten days of the scheme.
Refugees who fled without a passport must book an appointment at a visa centre to qualify for Britain’s Ukraine visa schemes.
May told the Commons that criminal gangs had exploited the “chaotic” scenes at Polish towns close to the Ukrainian border within a day of Russia’s invasion on February 24. She said that she had been working closely with anti-trafficking organisations such as Walk Free and the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery in the region trying to track children at risk.
“It’s a sad reflection on human nature that the very point that these women and children are fleeing to find refuge, the criminal gangs have moved in to make money from the trafficking of what they consider to be another commodity that is human beings and they are attempting to make money out of this human distress and vulnerability.”
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The UN said three million refugees had fled Ukraine — half were children. About 1.8 million refugees had fled to Poland. On average, 70,000 children a day had become refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine.
May said the National Crime Agency must treat trafficking concerns relating to the Ukraine crisis as a matter of urgency and must be equipped appropriately by the Home Office.
“I hope that the Home Office will be taking up this issue with the National Crime Agency to ensure they have the resources that they need to be able to deal with this issue and that the NCA and the Home Office recognise the urgency and importance of this issue with the trafficking with these children.
“Reducing the opportunities for the traffickers, catching the traffickers — identifying them and prosecuting them is the second point but we also need to recognise that some children will be prey to the traffickers and some of them may be brought across borders here into the United Kingdom. It is possible to identify children who are being trafficked when they are being brought through the border.”
She added: “My third ask to the Home Office is that it ensure that the Border force recognise the possibility of trafficked Ukrainian children being brought into the country, reinforce its guidelines to Border Force staff on how to identify them and ensure that they are being aware of this potential issue and being vigilant in dealing with it.”
