Priti Patel meets Ukrainian group amid visa concerns

Home Secretary Priti Patel recently met with the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has made a private visit to meet the Ukrainian community in Derby.

The UK's visa system for those fleeing Russia's invasion has been the focus of fierce criticism, being labelled a "shambles" by some.

Ms Patel met members of the city's Ukrainian Association to discuss their concerns.

Most said she was sympathetic but they still felt the bureaucracy around applications needed to be simplified.

Roman Surma wants to bring his cousin over from Ukraine

About 760 visas have been granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme, the government has said, with 22,000 applications "on their way through".

She met several British Ukrainians and discussed their cases.

Roman Surma said he wanted to bring his cousin over from Ukraine.

He said the home secretary was "very positive, very accessible and sounds very keen to help".

Maria Finiw wanted to know what the policy was for families without relatives in the UK

Maria Finiw said "she came across as very friendly, very concerned" while hearing about the issue.

Ms Finiw said: "The main focus was on bringing families over to the UK.

"I raised the hundreds of thousands of mothers with children with no family over here, and how many the UK is prepared to take.

"There wasn't a straightforward answer because there's bureaucracy involved.

"The time factor was raised, and the complicated system…she talked about setting up help centres, helplines and asking for volunteers."

Iryne Dobrowolskyj said the UK welcomed her parents with "open arms" after WW2

Iryne Dobrowolskyj said: "The UK welcomed my parents with open arms [after WW2] and that's what I hope the government will do for all those refugees that need to come over here now…they just want to get somewhere safe and we as a country need to provide that quickly.

"They are trying their best but they could do a lot better…it was interesting to get an insight but I think they've got a long way to go.

"There's lots of clarification needed. I still think the process needs to be made a bit easier.

"It's very complicated. The bureaucracy makes things too difficult."

The Home Office said it was "doing everything possible to ensure a rapid visa service" while carrying out "vital security checks".

It also said it had hired 100 new staff to help bolster its visa helpline.