The tory MP quickly backtracked following the on-air blunder
Cabinet Minister Michael Gove mistakenly told Sky News that 300,000 visas had been issued to Ukrainians before quickly correcting himself.
Speaking to the channel earlier today (March 13), Gove made the mistake whilst discussing the number of visas that have been made available to Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn country.
Realising his mistake, the conservative MP quickly backtracked – confirming that only around 3,000 visas had been issued so far through the government’s Ukraine family scheme.
During the same interview, Gove also shared more details about how UK families can help all those looking to enter the country following Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. During a new sponsorship route, families in the UK can apply to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their home and receive £350 per month as a “thank you” from the government.
Today’s interview came hot off the heels of many criticising the conservative’s family support scheme, claiming that it will be too slow – with those looking to take part required to go through online paperwork and security checks on behalf of a chosen refugee.
However Gove assured Sky News that the scheme could allow “tens of thousands” of displaced Ukrainians to find refuge in UK homes before revealing that authorities would even receive £10,000 for each refugee they sponsor and support.
Still, the Refugee Council doubled-down on its criticism, insisting that the “bureaucratic hurdles” imposed by the the government scheme will mean “that [it will] inevitably be restricted to those who are known to people in the UK”.
To this, Gove suggested that charities and social media would help in the process, with the latter used to connect refugees with families and help share the responsibility of filling out the paperwork necessary to complete and fast-track the process.
“The alternative to that would be the government attempting to match people in Ukraine to individuals here – that could be quite a slow, bureaucratic process,” he told Sky News reporter Sophie Ridge.
“We know charities, and we are working with them, who are working to identify people on the ground, and helping to identify people here to create the matching process.”
Related links:
- Sarah Everard: Protesters call for radical change to ‘corrupt’ police
- Ukraine claims Russia is plotting ‘man-made disaster’ at Chernobyl as nuclear concerns grow
- Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, abducted by Russian forces
