The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

12 Saturday April 9 2022 | the times

News

Ukrainian refugees using Facebook
groups to seek a safe home in the UK
are being put at risk of sexual exploita-
tion, a Times investigation reveals.
Within minutes of posting a message
on the largest Facebook group for UK
hosts, an undercover Times reporter
posing as Natalya, 22, from Kyiv was
bombarded with inappropriate and
sexually suggestive messages from
men seeking relationships.
Some men lied about having several
bedrooms in their one-bed homes
while another proposed sharing a bed,
writing: “I have a large bed. We could
sleep together.” Another sent a voice
note that said: “I am ready to help you
and maybe you can help me also.”
Natalya posted that she was search-
ing for a safe home and sponsorship on
several Facebook groups, including UK
Accommodation for Ukrainian re-
fugees, which has 50,000 members.
Three minutes later, a man whose
profile photograph is a tattooed torso,
messaged to say: “Are you single?”
The 47-year-old repeatedly proposes
a relationship, saying “I [will] marry
with you”, and adding that, as Natalya’s
“sponsor”, he would take to the sofa in
his one-bed flat, while she slept in his
bedroom. “I sleep on sofa,” he wrote.
“Don’t worry. I am not [a] sex maniac. I
am not that kind of m[a]n.”
In total, 41 of the 75 private messages
sent to Natalya over two days were
from single men who lived alone.
Under the government Homes for
Ukraine scheme, British hosts must
link up with Ukrainian refugees them-
selves, leaving tens of thousands of
people to resort to unregulated Face-
book groups to connect.
A government-backed matching ser-
vice run by the Reset charity offers to
match UK hosts with refugees but has
been operating for only a week. Those
who want to move to the UK must have
a sponsor before applying for a visa.
A 43-year-old chef in London, mes-
saged the undercover reporter to say he
could offer a “small space” close to cen-
tral London and suggested he might be
able to help with a waitressing job.
He sent pictures of the home show-
ing his studio flat but not the proposed
bedroom for the refugee. Asked what
the bed was like and where Natalya
would sleep, he dodged the question

before suggesting they could share a

bed. “I have a large bed. We could sleep

together,” he wrote.

He said that there was only one room

for two people in the flat and said he

would expect to have a physical rela-

tionship. Natalya said: “What if I never

want to be physical?” He said he was not

offering sponsorship to a person unwill-

ing to have sex but said this would be

“with the consent of both”.

He claimed to have “passed all the

safe checks” to be a member of the

matching groups, meaning he had not

been blocked by the volunteer adminis-

trators of the Facebook groups.

When confronted by a reporter, the

man insisted he had a second bed in the

studio flat. “I can help someone. I will be

happy to do so. And if later that person

falls in love with me. That fate will tell.

but all that is spoken between two

adults,” he said. He said he was single,

and “if the right woman arrives I will be

happy to meet her. I have no doubts

about that”.

Government guidance says people

applying to be a sponsor have to pass a

Police National Computer check. Once

a refugee is paired with a sponsored

host, Disclosure and Barring Service

checks on adult hosts are required.

Other men contacting the reporter

claimed to have large houses available

but later admitted there was only a

single bedroom.

One, a 30-year-old PhD student, of-

fered a “3 bed home in [a] nice town ...

Priti Patel has apologised over delays in
welcoming Ukrainian refugees as
figures showed only 1,200 have arrived
in the UK under the Homes for
Ukraine scheme.
That represents a tenth of the
12,500 visas granted under the pro-
gramme since it began three weeks
ago. A further 31,000 Ukrainians
are waiting for their visa to be
granted by the Home Office
having completed forms to
connect them with their UK
hosts.
Under the separate family
scheme, little over a third of
the 28,500 Ukrainians issued
visas have arrived.
In total, 12,000 Ukrainian re-
fugees have come to the UK
since the war began on February

Patel apologises for ‘frustrating’ visa delays

24. The home secretary told the BBC:
    “It’s been frustrating. I apologise with
    frustration myself. I’ll be candid, it has
    taken time. Any new visa system takes
    time.”
    The numbers arriving in the UK
    are significantly lower than in its
    EU neighbours, which do not re-
    quire visa checks for Ukrainians.
    Ireland said this week that 20,
    had arrived. France had seen
    30,000 enter the country by
    a week ago while the Ger-
    man government said it
    had accepted 300,
    Ukrainians.
    Patel defended the gov-
    ernment’s decision to insist
    on keeping visa require-
    ments despite 4.3 million

Ukrainians fleeing the war. “We are an

independent third country and we

want to give people the status and

security of coming to our country along

with the warm welcome,” she said.

“We have to ensure that they are

protected and safeguarded in the

United Kingdom as well.”

In total, the UK has received 80,

visa applications under the family

scheme and Homes for Ukraine

scheme.

The Home Office has granted 28,

visas out of 36,300 applications under

the family scheme, But only 10,

have arrived in the UK.

The UK has issued 12,500 visas out of

43,600 applications under the Homes

for Ukraine scheme, where UK house-

holds match with Ukrainian refugees to

accommodate them.

Just 1,200 have arrived, or 9.6 per

cent of those issued visas. More than

200,000 UK households have regis-

tered an interest in the scheme.

Labour accused the government of

“squandering” the huge generosity of

the British public. Lisa Nandy, the shad-

ow communities secretary, said: “The

government needs to urgently cut

unnecessary bureaucracy, provide

clear guidance to councils and

charities, and get desperate Ukrainian

families to safety.”

Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee

Council, reiterated calls for the govern-

ment to ditch visa requirements and

said the schemes were “unfit for pur-

pose”. He said: “Asking Ukrainian fami-

lies, who are exhausted and trauma-

tised, to fill out a long and complex ap-

plication is unacceptable and totally

out of touch with the terrifying situa-

tion they find themselves in.”

Britain is failing refugees, leading article,

page 31

Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor

Priti Patel has defended the

need for refugee visas

Single British men offer

beds to female refugees

News War in Ukraine

for 1 person.” He sent a screenshot

showing that he was registered to the

official scheme. A reporter asked for a

video of his home — it showed a flat

with just one bedroom.

Another man proposed an arrange-

ment in which a Ukrainian refugee

would pretend he was an “ ‘immediate

family member’ of yours. For example

as your unmarried partner. Just for pre-

tending, so I can sort my immigration

status.” He said he was willing to pay

£3,000. In return, he added: “I can help

you with sponsor[ship] or anything else

in England.”

Louise Calvey, the head of services

and safeguarding at Refugee Action,

said: “What we have is a government-

run scheme that is leaving women at

risk of sexual exploitation.”

Local councils are instructed to make

an in-person check on sponsor homes

before a refugee arrives “wherever

possible”, but Refugee Action has raised

concerns that they are not always

taking place in person.

The charity said some local councils

were conducting “desktop audits” or

virtual checks using their computer to

look at photos of the home.

Further visits are recommended at

the council’s discretion.

“Criminal record checks do not pick

up sexual predators who have no crimi-

nal record, allowing them to register

and pass checks to sponsor a refugee in

their home,” Calvey added.

“If the scheme continues in this man-

ner we have no doubt that some re-

fugees may be placed into very danger-

ous situations by the Homes for

Ukraine scheme,” she said.

Patricia Durr, chief executive of

Every Child Protected Against Traf-

ficking, said she was “hugely concerned

about the lack of safeguards and pro-

tections in the Homes for Ukraine

scheme”.

The Department for Levelling Up,

Housing and Communities said: “We

have designed our Homes for Ukraine

scheme to have specific safeguards in

place, including robust security and

background checks on all sponsors, by

the Home Office and local authorities.”

Meta said: “Attempts by a small

number of people to exploit [Facebook]

groups to abuse those seeking safety is

something we’re taking very seriously,

and we’ll take action on any content

which violates our policies.”

Shayma Bakht, Billy Kenber

Q&A

What are the two

schemes? The Ukraine

Family Scheme allows

any UK resident to bring

over extended family

members from Ukraine.

The Homes for Ukraine

scheme allows anyone

in the UK to bring in

Ukrainian refugees

without ties to Britain as

long as they can offer

accommodation for at

least six months.

How do people apply

for the Homes for

Ukraine scheme? UK

hosts must register

refugees themselves

rather than being

matched by the

government. The host

acts as sponsor on the

visa application form.

What about hosts who

cannot find refugees?

A charity named Reset

Communities and

Refugees has launched

a government-backed

service to match hosts

with refugees. But many

hosts and refugees

have used unregulated

Facebook groups to find

each other, which has

led to many successful

matches but also been

exploited by sex pests.

Should families apply

for visas together?

They have to apply

separately, but must say

who they are travelling

to the UK with. This

means UK hosts and

refugees are left with

the laborious task of

copying out the same

details in multiple

application forms.

What if I submitted one

form for a family? You

will have to submit

separate applications

for each member. This

has led to confusion,

with many waiting to

hear back from the

Home Office without

realising that visa

applications for other

family members have

not been submitted,

leaving them in limbo.

Can I check the

progress of my

application? No. The

Home Office has given a

private company the

task of running its

Ukraine Helpline,

meaning they do not

have the security

clearance to access the

database to update

applicants on progress.

The Home Office says it

is in the process of

writing to all applicants

to update them.

So when do people

find out when their

visas will be granted?

They only find out when

they receive an email

granting them a visa

and “permission to

travel” to the UK. This

means they cannot

arrange their travel in

advance, adding to the

reasons why so few

have arrived.

How many Ukrainians

have applied? As of

April 5, 80,000 had

applied. 28,500 visas

have been issued under

the family scheme and

12,500 under Homes for

Ukraine. 10,800 have

arrived under the family

scheme and 1,200 via

Homes for Ukraine.