Liverpool's Riverside MP Kim Johnson has posted a letter to X asking Keir Starmer to "clarify what 'loophole' in the Ukraine Family Scheme the Home Secretary is looking at closing as a result of the application by a Palestinian family".
Kim Johnson has joined other Labour MPs who have Gaza on their agenda.
Kim Johnson hit the news last year when she couldn't vote in the 'crucial' Winter Fuel Payment vote as she was having dental treatment.
Along with the letter Kim Johnson posted:
I've co-ordinated a cross-party letter urging the PM to clarify his comments on closing a ‘loophole’ in the Ukraine Family Scheme that allowed a Palestinian family to stay in the UK.
Basic humanity shouldn’t be selective - if we help some fleeing war, why not families from Gaza?
The cross-party letter in full:
19 February 2025
Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to ask you to clarify your statement at Prime Minister's Questions last week, where you indicated that you are committed to closing a 'loophole' that allowed a Palestinian family to remain in Britain after they applied through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees.
The family in question is a mother, father and their four children aged 18, 17, eight and seven who were displaced from their home in Gaza in September when it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike. They applied to enter Britain using the Ukrainian Family Scheme to join the father's brother, who is a British citizen. Their claim was refused in May, but a further appeal has been granted by upper tribunal judges on Article 8 grounds following a hearing in January.
As you know, there is still no resettlement route for Palestinians fleeing the bloodshed, starvation and bombardment that has devastated Gaza for over 15 months. This leaves families trapped in unliveable circumstances, at daily risk of death with no safe way out.
When US and UK forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 and the existing regime collapsed, the UK government rightfully escalated resettlement options with the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). This facilitated the resettlement of around 7,000 Locally Employed Staff and their families to the UK between June 2021 and August 2021. The Government then announced the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme, which planned to resettle up to 20,000 people at risk in Afghanistan. Data from November 2024 shows that 30,412 people have been settled under the ARAP and ACRS schemes.
When Ukraine was invaded by Russia, the UK rightfully introduced an initial concession in February 2022 to allow the immediate family members of British people in Ukraine to apply for a fast-tracked family visa free of charge, even allowing for the provision of a discretionary 12-month visa for those who did not meet the full family visa requirements. By March 2022, the Ukraine Family Scheme was set up to allow for relatives who were not immediate family to get a temporary visa to live in the UK. Homes for Ukraine was launched, which provided further routes for visas for people with no family ties to the UK, providing they could secure sponsorship from somebody with accommodation to offer. The Ukraine Extension Scheme was then launched, allowing Ukrainian citizens already in the UK to extend their visas on improved terms. All three schemes were free and none were capped. Data from December 2024 shows that under 108,300 Ukraine Family Scheme visas have been issued.
Basic humanity shouldn't be selective. If Britain supports safe routes and medical evacuation for some, why should it be any different for families fleeing conflict in Gaza?
We would be grateful if you could clarify what 'loophole' in the Ukraine Family Scheme the Home Secretary is looking at closing as a result of the application by a Palestinian family, and what the justification for taking such an action would be.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Kim Johnson
Diane Abbott
Shockat Adam
Apsana Begum
Baroness Blower
Richard Burgon
Ian Byrne
Alistair Carmichael
Lord Michael Cashman
Jeremy Corbyn
Anne Davies
Carla Denyer
Neil Duncan-Jordan
Colum Eastwood
Mary Foy
Andrew George
Claire Hanna
Brendan O'Hara
Lord John Hendy
Chris Hinchcliff
Ben Lake
Peter Lamb
Ian Lavery
Chris Law
Graham Leadbitter
Brian Leishman
Baroness Ruth Lister
John McDonnell
Llinos Medi
Grahame Morris
Kate Osamor
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Liz Saville Roberts
Nadia Whittome
Steve Witherden
https://twitter.com/KimJohnsonMP/status/1892159286618247538
