Last week was another sombre week and it was good to see how members of all parties came together in Parliament in support of Ukraine. The increasing severity of the situation is heart-breaking and we all stand in solidarity with those affected. The Ukranian Ambassador received a standing ovation as he attended Prime Minister’s Questions and I joined many of my colleagues in signing a book of solidarity that the Speaker will send to his counterpart and friend Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Parliament of Ukraine.
Many of you have contacted me asking about support for refugees and last week, the Home Secretary announced the first phase of a bespoke humanitarian support package for the people of Ukraine.
A number of changes to the immigration system have been made to support British nationals and their families in Ukraine, and Ukrainians in the UK, Ukraine and elsewhere. A new uncapped sponsored humanitarian visa route will also be established to allow communities, private sponsors or local authorities to sponsor people to come the UK from Ukraine for an initial 12 months. There will be no limit on this scheme, and the UK will welcome as many Ukrainians as wish to come and for whom there are sponsors.
Back in the constituency, I am really happy to be doing many more visits in person and I was especially pleased to show Tom Tugendhat MP, one of my Parliamentary colleagues and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee around our fantastic Staffordshire Moorlands. I talk about the Moorlands all the time in Parliament so it was lovely to show him what a great place we live in. Tom was a fantastic guest speaker at an event and also joined me on a visit to local farmer, Brian Goodwin at his farm in Upper Hulme.
