Davey accuses Government of lack of support for Ukrainian refugees

The Lib Dem leader challenged Boris Johnson to travel to the region to see for himself the plight of people fleeing the conflict.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has accused the Government of a “shocking” lack of support for Ukrainian refugees trying to reach the UK.

Speaking during a visit to the Polish border, Sir Ed said that, unlike other European countries, the British Government did not have people on the ground offering assistance to those wanting to come.

He urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to travel to the region to see for himself the plight of “traumatised and exhausted” people desperate to reach safety.

“Boris Johnson should come here, see these people with his own eyes, look them in the face and say ‘I apologise for being so unwelcoming for so long’,” he said in a telephone interview with the PA news agency.

Our Government is so wrong. They are pretending they are doing something and they really aren't

Sir Ed Davey

“Our Government is so wrong. It is just a hopeless way of going about it. They are pretending they are doing something and they really aren’t.”

Sir Ed was speaking from the Polish town of Przemysl – close to one of the main crossing points from Ukraine – where he described the situation as “organised chaos”.

A disused Tesco had been repurposed by the Poles as a humanitarian centre, while he said other European countries had set up makeshift outposts in nearby empty shops offering the refugees assistance with their onward journeys.

However, he said there was nothing comparable from the UK, with the result that people were being put off from even trying to get there as it was seen as too difficult and too expensive.

The Government isn't prepared to do the necessary for people who do want to come. It is just shocking

Sir Ed Davey

“The message from Priti Patel and Boris Johnson – ‘You can come if you have got a relative, but don’t bother otherwise’ – I’m afraid people have heard that and people who might have come to the UK think they should go elsewhere,” the Lib Dem leader said.

“Our reputation, in terms of humanitarian aid at least, is not a good one here. We should have British people here who can say ‘If you want to come to the UK we will make it happen for you.'”

Sir Ed said that even the Government’s new scheme announced on Monday to enable the public to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the fighting was too complicated and too bureaucratic.

“How are you supposed to meet people on social media? These are people who are traumatised, they are exhausted, they are emotional,” he said.

“Sometimes they left in such a hurry they didn’t even bring all their paperwork, apparently they have got to find a British contact somehow. Nonsense.

“We should be here saying if you want to come this is how we will do it for you. The Government isn’t prepared to do the necessary for people who do want to come. It is just shocking.”