Boris Johnson is meeting with the prime ministers of Canada and the Netherlands in London as Western countries prepare to impose more sanctions on Russia.
However, the government’s refugee program is under criticism after it was revealed over the weekend that about 50 Ukrainians had been granted visas. Boris Johnson stated that the UK would be “very generous” to migrants but would not admit them without proper screening. It comes in the midst of clamor for further action as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proceeds.
During his meetings, Mr Johnson will discuss more penalties against Russia with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Parliament is also set to enact laws targeting oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s money laundering.
Mr Johnson said during a visit to an RAF base with his other leaders said he was unsure about the authenticity of the 50 visa figure, but that the UK was “processing thousands”
So far, the government has announced two major programmes for persons leaving Ukraine to come to the UK: one that permits family members of those who have established in the UK to join them, and another that allows organizations to sponsor a Ukrainian’s immigration.
He described the initiatives as “very generous” but said that Mr Putin was “doubling down on his aggression” and attacking “in a pretty indiscriminate way” displacing massive waves of people, and that “we’re going to have to respond to that”
When asked if the government was exploring a third option for migrants, Mr Johnson declined to respond explicitly but stated that the UK would not construct a system “without any checks or any controls at all”
According to Home Office insiders, they are in the early stages of investigating a program to grant humanitarian access to those escaping the crisis.
However, a senior government source told the BBC that the focus was remained on the two plans previously announced for Ukrainian migrants, and the need for additional action was being considered.
The prime minister’s official spokeswoman also reiterated that there were only two humanitarian choices, with further information on the sponsorship route coming later this week.
The prime minister also stated that given Mr. Putin’s “unrestrained” attacks on cities, the world could do more in terms of sanctions, which is why the UK introduced the Economic Crime Bill on Monday.
He went on to say that “we want to go as fast as we possibly can” in applying sanctions, with “nothing off the table”