The UK government has reportedly been forced to rehome hundreds of Ukrainian refugees after their hosts in Britain turned out to be “unsuitable.”
The Observer broke the news on Sunday, citing sources linked to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
According to the head of the DLUHC, Michael Gove, both Ukrainians and their sponsors are subject to preliminary security checks. However, according to The Observer’s sources, the government has already let down 600 refugees who arrived to the UK to discover that “the people they have come to stay with have been found to be unsuitable.”
“These 600 Ukrainian refugees had been granted visas, but their sponsors were found to be unsuitable either because they had a criminal record or for some other reason,” one of the sources said.
The situation has apparently not surprised charities, some of which raised concerns over the new scheme in the very first days after it was established. In a letter to Gove in March, 16 refugee and anti-trafficking organizations warned of the dangers which the program poses for vulnerable women and children who arrive from the conflict-torn country.