A plane is “ready and waiting” to bring Ukrainian orphans over to Scotland for sanctuary, but the Home Office is not clearing the paperwork, Ian Blackford has claimed.
The SNP Westminster leader highlighted the Dnipro Kids appeal, set up by Hibs FC supporters in Edinburgh, which is on stand-by to evacuate 48 orphaned Ukraine children from Poland where they have fled to.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Blackford raised the issue in public for the first time after a week of behind-the-scenes appeals.
He said: “There is a plane ready and waiting in Poland to bring these orphans to the UK on Friday but that flight will leave empty without the necessary paperwork from the Home Office.
“The Polish authorities, Edinburgh City Council, the Scottish Government, and the orphans’ guardians are all working to bring these children to safety.”
But a week on - the Home Office is still proving to be the only obstacle in the way and it risks leaving these children stranded.
The SNP Westminster leader appealed to Dominic Raab, the deputy Prime Minister to remove the obstructions before it is too late.
He said: “Will he work with me and the Ukrainian authorities to guarantee that these 48 Ukrainian orphans will get on that plane this Friday?”
In exchanges Dominic Rabb, standing in for Boris Johnson, said the issue was one of safeguarding and not bureaucracy although it was “a heart-rending situation.”
Blackford said it was only the Home Office that stood in the way.
He added: “This one case goes to the heart of the failure in the UK government’s response to the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.
“It has taken the intervention of several Ministers, letters to European ambassadors, and the fear of this case being exposed in the Chamber to try and force movement in an urgent case, involving almost 50 vulnerable children.
"Even where there is the will it seems there is simply no way when the Home Office gets involved.”
Raab restated that proper practices on safeguarding were followed and wanted to establish that family reunion options in the region had been considered.
He added: “More broadly we are making plans for the arrival of 100,000 Ukrainian children in our schools.”
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