Homes for Ukraine: Paedophile hosted family in County Armagh before checks complete
- Published
One of the schemes helping Ukrainian refugees travel to Northern Ireland is Homes for Ukraine
A convicted paedophile hosted a family of Ukrainian refugees for a number of weeks in County Armagh before he was deemed unsuitable to be a sponsor.
A criminal record check by the UK Home Office did not flag his conviction, the Sunday Independent reported.
It said the family, which included a baby, moved into a mobile home on the man's property before further checks had been completed.
The UK government said the man was not a sponsor on its scheme for refugees.
It said it took the issue of safeguarding "extremely seriously" and no visas were issued in that case.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme enables those fleeing war in Ukraine to be sponsored by individuals, businesses or community organisations in the UK.
The sponsor and the individual need to identify each other outside the system and then ask to be formally matched with each other.
Those sponsored can then live in the UK and access work, public funds and services for three years.
Safeguarding checks are carried out on both parties - the Home Office carries out police and criminal record checks on the sponsor and all adults in the sponsor's household.
The Sunday Independent reported that checks carried out by the Home Office did not flag that the host in County Armagh had been convicted of sexually abusing a child.
'Host not suitable to sponsor'
A second check, involving a home visit, was carried out by an external agency acting on behalf of Stormont's Executive Office on 25 July.
The Sunday Independent reported that the man made his sexual offence conviction during that visit.
The Executive Office said no refugees had arrived with the sponsor at the time of that visit.
It said further checks were carried out and the man's conviction was confirmed on 15 August.
Two days later a panel that oversees the checks decided that the nature of the offence meant the man was "not suitable to sponsor Ukrainian refugees", said the Executive Office.
The family had moved into the man's accommodation by that stage but the Executive Office said the agencies working on the refugee scheme were not aware of that.
The man and the family were informed of the panel's decision by email and the family was moved to emergency accommodation.
Most Ukrainian refugees coming to Northern Ireland fly into Dublin, where citizens of Ukraine do not need a visa, and travel across the border to Northern Ireland, where a visa is needed.
It is common for Ukrainians who have applied to the Homes for Ukraine scheme to travel to Northern Ireland before their UK visas have been issued.
'Strengthened procedures'
The Executive Office said that as a result of that there had been a small number of cases in which sponsors were deemed unsuitable after their Ukrainian guests have arrived.
It said there were no other cases in which that was due to a sex offence.
"We have taken a number of additional steps to help ensure those involved in the scheme are protected," said the Executive Office.
"This includes an arrangement with the Department of Justice in the Republic of Ireland to intercept Ukrainians if we find their sponsor is unsuitable before they travel here.
"We have also strengthened the procedures for reporting concerns that arise during home visits to ensure that all agencies receive relevant information at the earliest possible opportunity."
The UK government said "extensive security checks" take place on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
"To ensure a sponsor meets the requirements for approval, the Home Office will conduct standard security checks on all adults aged 18 and over who will be living in the same household as the guests, prior to issuing a visa," it said.
"This includes checks against government records and those of other third parties such as the Police National Computer (PNC) or its equivalent in Northern Ireland."
It said that refugees would be offered the chance to find another sponsor if the checks showed the one to which they were originally matched was not deemed suitable.