UK sets up Ukrainian refugee centre in Lille, 70 miles away from Calais
The government’s handling of Ukrainian refugees was plunged further into farce today as it was announced the UK will set up a “pop up” refugee centre in the French city of Lille, which is 70 miles away from Calais.
Home secretary Priti Patel yesterday said a centre to process refugees was being set up in Calais, however Ukrainians on arrival were instead directed to hand in forms in either Paris or Brussels.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss has now revealed there won’t even be a British refugee processing site in the city of Calais and that it will in fact be 70 miles away in Lille.
It has been estimated that almost 2m people have left Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion almost two weeks ago.
The UK has only taken in around 500 refugees, compared to 30,000 in Germany.
“The Home Office have placed staff in Poland and Hungary to help people, they have also … the Home Secretary has announced a new pop-up application site in Lille,” Truss told MPs.
“I can tell her that the Home Office has set up a surgery for MPs in Portcullis House which I am sure she will be very welcome to take any cases she has to.”
Patel was widely criticised yesterday after she told MPs that there was already a refugee centre in Calais to help Ukrainian refugees apply for entry into the UK.
This was quickly proven to be false, after images emerged on social media of signs in Calais directing arriving Ukrainians to fill out a form online and then go to either Paris or Brussels to complete the process.
Paris is 185 miles away from Calais and Brussels is 120 miles away.
The home secretary then corrected her statement and said a centre would soon be set up in Calais.
Home Office sources told The Sun that they are “looking to help” refugees in Calais get to Lille.
“The people fleeing are mainly women and children, and we know there are people smugglers, and sex traffickers operating in Calais – we do not want them side by side,” they said.