Russo-Ukraine War: Britain wants visa numbers for fleeing Ukrainians to rise

London expects the number of Ukrainians being granted visas for Britain to increase very, very quickly, a minister had said on Monday.

The Home office has been under pressure to do more to help people fleeing the war after it revealed on Sunday that only around 50 visas had been issued.

All these happened under the Ukraine Family Scheme at 10.00 a.m. this morning.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairperson, Tom Tugendhat, said the rate was "certainly not a success'' while shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted: "This is too slow.''

It was reported on Sunday that Home Secretary Priti Patel was examining legal options to create a humanitarian route, which would offer all Ukrainian refugees the right to come to Britain.

Their offers were regardless of whether they have family ties there.

But, it was unclear whether this referred to a sponsorship scheme that had already been announced, with Europe Minister James Cleverly saying on Monday that there had been no change to the plans during the weekend.

Speaking to Sky News early on Monday, Cleverly said that the government had made it absolutely clear that it would support Ukrainians seeking refuge.

He acknowledged that only small numbers had come so far but "the process was only just starting.''

Cleverly also told the radio show `Leading Britain's Conversation' that the number of Ukrainians being granted visas for Britain would increase very, very quickly.

But the scale of the crisis is unprecedented.

"This is the largest refugee flow that we have seen since the Second World War,'' he said.

He said that his home office had to create a system pretty much from the scratch, and the process would get quicker and slicker and faster.

"It will take a little time to get the system up and running, that's now there, I have no doubt that the numbers will start coming through,'' he said.

Patel said at the weekend that Britain was doing everything possible to speed up efforts to grant visas to Ukrainian refugees.

She told the Sun that she was examining a humanitarian route to allow all those fleeing the conflict to come to Britain.

But it was unclear whether this "humanitarian route'' was actually a new concept, or referred to a sponsorship scheme already announced whereby individuals and organisations would be able to bring Ukrainians to Britain.

Patel told the newspaper: "In response to the desperation I saw with my own eyes at the Polish border two days ago, I'm urgently escalating our response to the growing humanitarian crisis.

"I am now investigating the legal options to create a humanitarian route.

"This means anyone without ties to the UK fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will have a right to come to this nation.''

Cleverly told BBC Breakfast on Monday: "We have got two routes by which Ukrainians can come to the UK.

"One is where they have family connections, but we also have a broader humanitarian route for Ukrainians who do not have family who are already here in the UK there is no particular target or limit on that route.''

He asked whether there had been a change to the plans during the weekend, "no, no, no. This is what's been in place previously.''